


Reversal

by Skysong (Skys_Song)



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bruce Wayne is busy, Mother Hen Dick Grayson, Multi, Muminette, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 26,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28264590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skys_Song/pseuds/Skysong
Summary: When Marinette moved to Gotham with her friends she wasn't expecting to accidently adopt a teenager in all ways that counted bar the legal documents. The littlest Wayne had just looked so lonely.
Relationships: Chloé Bourgeois/Kagami Tsurugi, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Dick Grayson
Comments: 148
Kudos: 897





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first thing I've written in a while so feedback would be appreciated

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was used to her life not quite turning out the way she had planned. Ever. It never went the way she was expecting and that wasn’t always a bad thing. 

No teenager expected themselves to become a hero defending an entire city using magical jewellery to defeat a butterfly themed villain that turned people’s negative emotions against them, later becoming the keeper of a box of miniature gods, but that had been largely the beginning of her teens. 

The three year long war coming to an abrupt end with her partner thrusting not only the two missing but his miraculous at her leaving the grief stricken boy she used to have a crush on in his place was also unexpected. A simple but deadly car crash had been the thing that brought it all to an end. 

For all Hawkmoth and Mayura were strong and a menace to the city, Gabriel and Natalie were very much human. Her partner upon discovering the two miraculous within their personal items decided he wanted nothing to do with miraculous that had torn his family apart, leaving both of her persona behind as he moved to live with his aunt. 

While Adrien had given her bad advice and never stood up for her in front of the class when Lila turned them against her, Chat had been her best friend and partner. She tried to keep in touch but without her revealing her identity it felt strange and after a few months the emails between them trailed off and stopped. It had been almost 5 years now since they’d spoken.

Plagg mourned the loss of his Kitten but with no Cat wielder the balance was becoming fragile and she soon had to put both the Cat and Ladybug Miraculous to rest, taking up the Mouse whenever needed. Not that that was often, after a press conference to say that Hawkmoth was no more she announced that the two heroes were retiring and tried to move on with her life. 

Commissions and learning the language of the Guardian’s from a combination of the translated tablet she had managed to steal from Gabriel’s safe before anyone realised what it was and the actual grimoire she now had in her possession. They were both hard work but she made fantastic progress.

At least she had until Lila decided she wasn’t doing enough by just turning the class against her, especially now Chloe was unexpectedly defending her and started to target the online boutique she’d been working hard on. The brand ‘Marinette’ was buried under so many bad reviews overnight she shut the website down, finishing the last of her commissions and then only taking new ones from people Jagged or Clara personally recommended.

It was heartbreaking after all the work she’d put in. 

More so when some of Lila’s lies about her stealing some of her designs filter through to the bakery and her parents had actually sat her down to ask if it was true. Much as she’d known their trust in her was a little rocky with all the disappearing she’d done as Ladybug, in the 6 months she’d been retired she thought it was better. 

Apparently she was wrong. 

The realisation that she’d lost her parent’s trust had been a massive blow to her. For all Mullo was a comfort and tried to push her to keep going and get through it, with Lila making school hell and that bleeding over into her life outside of it she felt stuck. 

Kagami and Luka were still on her side as her friends but they were busy themselves. Kagami was preparing to qualify for the Olympics and Luka was going to be going on with Jagged after a falling out with Kitty Section over Lila’s behaviour. They offered for her to go along but she had a year of schooling left and then universities to look at if she could afford them. She wasn’t positive her parents would or could support her and with the drastic decrease in commissions her savings account wasn’t quite what it was. 

The person that snapped her back onto track wasn’t the one anyone expected. Chloe had marched into her room one day, told her to stop moping, apologised for the way she had acted over the years and presented her with a business plan for them to open an online boutique together. One were she was anonymous so that none of the class could try to ruin it. It was a five year plan ending up on the mainstage in every top fashion week possible. 

Chloe wanted to make her own way in the world and get out of her parent’s shadow and she was fed up with Marinette letting the class walk all over her when she had so much talent which was going to waste. The months seemed to blend together as they worked on the details and got the basics of the brand sorted out and somehow Chloe became one of her closest friends. Sitting with her in class and defending her when she was blamed for or scorned because of something Lila said. 

Kagami and Luka had raised an eyebrow at first but after seeing the way Chloe had helped her get back on her feet they’d been supportive. 

‘Miraculous Designs and Clothing’ or ‘MDC’ or short as an ode to her previous brand ended up being a roaring success with the first line of casual clothing inspired by the previous heroes of Paris selling out in a matter of days. They’d expected it to take months but somehow despite having no knowledge of who the owners were Audrey had written a review shouting thor praises within Style Queen. Chloe glowed with pride for months to come, finally getting the positive attention she craved from her mother, even if it was unknowingly. 

They celebrated by going on a campus tour of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and a trip around the fashion district for inspiration. Marinette with the intention to focus on design and Chloe for the more business related courses with them a side in jewellery making which they both agreed would compliment the brand nicely considering what it was named after. 

Audrey had actually said the words to her daughter when months later after more exams than they ever wanted to take again they were both looking at their acceptance letters. The woman insisted that they would live in her penthouse while they were there in the heart of the city and neither girl wanted to complain considering the views and space they would have. It would save them on needing to rent out a work space for their business while they were there, instead using at least one of the 6 bedrooms.

Marinette’s parents had been proud but less than enthused that she was moving half way across the world to a new country. They understood her need to get away from Paris even if they didn’t quite know why the akuma attacks from years ago had affected their daughter so deeply and she left with their blessing promising to keep in touch. 

So the two girls moved to New York with their friends Kagami and Luka calling in whenever they were in the area. It was a hectic few years, made more chaotic by Marinette telling her friend and roommate about that she was Ladybug and the Guardian. Which went over surprisingly well when Chloe admitted she’d worked out her identity as Ladybug years ago and kept it a secret. 

The Kwami, finally in a place where everyone knew of their existence and with a Guardian who allowed it took rapidly to roaming freely around the penthouse, brought chaos with them but it was nice for the too big penthouse to feel full and be noisy even when it was just the two human’s living in it. 

And that was the accidental beginnings of the New Order of the Guardians. 

Pollen was thrilled to see her previous Queen but agreed it would be too dangerous for any of them to be wielded by the same people. It wouldn’t take much to tie the two people who moved from Paris to two Parisian heroes who suddenly turned up in New York. So they steadily trained with them all in the room until they ended up turning into a gym until they found their best fits. 

That was how Chloe ended up becoming a permanent holder for the Fox Miraculous and a regular holder for the Horse Miraculous with both Trixx and Kaalki’s blessings. Kagami joining them with the Tiger and Luka with the Rabbit when they were in town as they spread their knowledge and made sure that should something happen the Miracle Box could be passed onto others who would keep it safe. 

The years flew by and the next thing they’d graduated and were starting to get restless, the pull of something dragging at the edges of their consciousness. The Kwami said it was something that came with their training as Guardian’s, something Marinette as the Grand Guardian and a true wielder of Creation and Destruction felt more keenly. There was a shift in the balance of the world too far to one side and they were needed to go and right it. 

Degrees and an established flourishing business all in hand they packed up and moved where the pull was taking them, Gotham. This time Kagami and Luka came with them having both decided that it was time for them to move out of their parent’s homes and it was a good place to have a base even if they were off travelling a lot. Her and Luka were living in fear of the day the flirting between the two girls escalated into something more, they were pretty sure they were going to need brain bleach and lots of it. 

They could feel the Chaos in the air the moment they stepped within the city, forcing them to buy somewhere to live outside of the main part to lessen the effect. Plagg was basically bouncing off the walls of the moderately sized mansion Chloe had insisted on with all the Chaos for him to feed off of. It made Marinette grateful that she had given into the large space. Plus there was a wing for the Kwami to all have space to wander even when there were people over and they set up the opposite end of the house for appointments for custom commissions which they were deciding to open up now that their schooling was over. Up to then they had limited it to only a few slots over the summer and even those remotely but considering it was now their livelihood they wanted to expand out. 

The best bit of the house however was the sprawling grounds, it had it’s own small forest which backed onto their neighbours separated by only an iron fence so she she could see through the trees and pretend she was deeper in nature than she really was. 

It was all so inspiring and so different from the city she had grown up in. All of it was, even the old skyscrapers with their gargoyles made her hands twitch to pull out her sketch pad and follow the trail of inspiration. She took so many reference photos the first time she was in the city after they’d moved in that it had taken the combined effort of Luka, Chloe and Kagami to get her to the cafe they were having lunch in. 

That was how one autumnal afternoon with the suns rays streaming through the branches to hit the fallen leaves in just the right way to turn them a fiery orange that she just needed to capture she didn’t notice the great dane come running up to her until he was licking her face, followed by a mortified young teen who was shouting “Titus!” with a mixture of exasperation and mortification. 

And that was the start of a whole other wave of unexpected changes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for everyone's support! Updates will be approximately weekly

Damian was not having the best of weeks. 

The new school year brought with it a bunch of new students and unfortunately with the growth spurt he’d started over the summer an alarming trend for the years above to watch and try to talk to him started. He’d tried to bring it up with his Father before the problem got worse and his concerns were swept to the side as unimportant again. Told to just ignore the other students and gloss over that it wasn’t right for 15 and 16 year olds to be trying to get the attention of a 13 year old with what he was certain were less than noble intentions. 

While even the League drew a line at practical lessons considering his young age when he was training with them, they had been more than thorough with the theoretical side of sex education and the associated body language. Afterall with the looks of his parents they were expecting it to be something he would use as a weapon when he was older. Some of the best of them used similar techniques of acting the part of an innocent rose until they were close enough to reveal their thorns. 

It was not however something he was intending to utilise while he was in a school surrounded by teenagers who were interested in him solely for the looks he was starting to come into and his name. Luckily none of them were aware that he himself was independently wealthy or they’d have been intolerable. Even his family seemed to forget that assassins, even ones being trained by their family, got paid when they completed jobs and he had been good at what he did even if he now found it distasteful. 

The staring and whispering containing his name just on the edge of his earshot was putting him on edge constantly. Classes, while still as easy as when he first started, were almost impossible to concentrate in and there was no chance for him to relax. 

Three days in and he could already see this ending badly for someone. The instincts he tried hard to keep in check were coming to the surface and the clear dismissal of his concerns made it worse. 

He couldn’t turn to Alfred since the man had been in the room and seemed to agree with his Father. Drake was immediately dismissed since their relationship was neutral at the best of times although no longer the open violence it had once been. Todd would have been a back up if he got desperate except his voice had broken on the comms the night before and the man was making a big fuss about it like puberty wasn’t something the man had gone through. 

That just left Dick, except he was back in Bludhaven since Father had come back. Much as he knew Dick would come if he needed it and try to sort things out he didn’t want to deal with the aftermath of the fight between his Father and older brother once Dick left again. It seemed like his brother’s defense of him just highlighted his Father’s shortcomings and lack of trust which seemed to push the man even further away instead of solving anything, it was frustrating. Sometimes he wished Dick had stayed as his Batman. 

Walking Titus around the grounds was one thing that helped him calm himself down before he went down to the cave to do some training now his reach and center of gravity were shifting. Never patrol if he had school the next day since Father seemed to think that was important, or rather was using it as an excuse to avoid him some more he thought uncharitably but probably not inaccurately. 

He picked up the pace into a light jog as he entered the woods towards the boundary of their grounds where it backed on to the rest of the woods within the manor formerly owned by the Drake’s. Although from Drake’s relieved mumblings during dinner a few months ago now owned by someone else. Much as they didn’t exactly like each other he was glad the house full of bad memories was no longer the man’s responsibility. 

Titus kept pace as he concentrated on trying to make his footsteps as silent as possible amongst the crunchy autumn leaves. The artist took the scenes all in so that he could paint them if he got some free time later on in the week. Photographic memory was a blessing sometimes. 

As he strode out he suddenly realised it was a little bit too quiet and his senses all peaked searching for the source of his disturbance, just as he saw Titus ducking through a hole in the fence separating the houses and disappearing into the wood beyond. 

The words that came out of his mouth would have made Todd proud and Dick frown and try to tell him off for the language he used. Not that any of his brothers had a leg to stand on in regards to language use and his sisters were worse. 

His silent job became more of a sprint as he vaulted the fence after his wayward pet, hoping that between shouting and what he was pretty sure were Titus’s tracks he would come across him quickly before bumping into the new residents. 

Luck was not on his side as he leapt over a ditch and clambered up the mound on the other side just in time to see a woman being vigorously licked by his great dane. 

“Titus!”

This was not how he wanted to be introduced to their neighbours if he ever wanted to be introduced at all. People in situations that tended to demand small talk were something he avoided at all costs. Although at least it was better than a gala he thought with a shudder. The next one of those was going to be hell, maybe he could pretend to be dead again to get out of it a morbid part of his mind wondered. 

The way people baby talked to animals, especially since he was pretty sure Titus would be up to the woman’s waist if she’d been stood up, was something he never understood. At least she seemed to be taking the intrusion from his pet in good graces if the babble of French all along the lines of ‘good god’ and ‘handsome boy’ were anything to go by. 

It took awhile for Titus to calm down so he found himself standing a little awkwardly observing the woman. Small of stature but the way she handled Titus and wasn’t pushed over spoke of strength even if not obvious so. The accent and language suggested French origins although he noted she had classically Chinese features so probably eurasian. Her clothes all looked well made and good sturdy materials but with personal touches that suggested they were probably custom made and expensive if bought but from a glance at the dress design she had been working on at her side they were probably made by the woman herself, designers seemed the types of people to prefer their own creations to shop bought. 

When she was finally free enough to look up at him properly he could see that his assessment of hidden strength was correct. For as much as there was a bright smile lighting up her face as she greeted him, there was also an underlying caution as she assessed him in much the way that he had her shortly before. It made him both curious and wary, afterall they were essentially in her territory. 

“Apologies for Titus and my intrusion. He found a hole in the fence, I will make sure that it is sealed again so that we don’t disturb you again.”

The woman seemed to have decided that he was mostly non-threatening and brushed aside his apologies with sweet words about how nice it was to meet such a lovely dog. Not many would describe Titus as lovely given his size so he was warming up to her a little. 

“I’m Marinette, I live and work in the manor here so you’d be welcome to bring this lovely boy around any time you want.”

“Damian, I live next door in the Wayne manor.”

She didn’t react to his name but then it could have been either her not recognising it being from outside the country herself or from them being of similar standing. She did after all live in a manor much like his family. 

They exchanged a few empty words about it being nice to meet each other and he led Titus away and back to the manor. He was behind on his schedule but the encounter had been pleasant enough that he couldn’t quite bring himself to be annoyed. 

He wondered if she would let him see the dress when she was done. The sketch of the design had made it look lovely.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter for Bruce's side of the conversation. He cares but they're not very good at communication

Bruce Wayne was a man with many masks, Batman and Brucie being the most prominent two and it meant that sometimes he struggled to just be Bruce. Be the father of a collection of traumatised children that had become or were becoming adults at an alarming pace. He wanted to do what was best for them but he generally got the feeling that he got it wrong a lot of the time. 

Between Gotham city, being a Wayne and the Justice League there was a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and there were times when he couldn’t be there for his children or where they had to come second. It was something that regularly brought him into conflict with Dick and Jason who would always put their chosen family first.

Most recently it was Damian that he felt like he was failing. 

His youngest had been difficult when he first came to them but had largely mellowed out over the years and violence wasn’t his first port of call when things were stressful. Unfortunately his upbringing with the League made him as bad at emotions as Bruce himself and their meanings would often get missed by each other. 

The blank look in his son’s eyes when he had said there wasn’t anything he could do about the stares at school and that he would get used to it made him think this was one of those times. 

Much as he wanted to help, if it was just stares and they weren’t actually doing anything then there wasn’t really anything he could do short of pulling Damian out of school. While he tried to protect all of his children from it as much as possible the stares and gossip were something that would follow Damian around for the rest of his life. The media and general public were always so interested in what their high profile people were doing and it was just starting for his son. 

It was better that it was something he got used to in the school where it was a relatively controlled environment and no one could openly follow him in the same way the tabloids followed Brucie around. That was a mask he was sure Damian would not be wanting to inherit from him. 

“Alfred, do you think I’m doing the right thing keeping Damian in school? It helped all the others with socialising.”

The older man looked him over from where he was drinking tea in one of the arm chairs. “I think Damian is a little different from the others. Perhaps it is time to look at alternatives.”

Bruce hummed starting to think through different options. Since Damian’s training had been fairly extensive there was little from the educational side he was learning, he’d already displayed that he was more than capable of checking and correcting errors in Wayne Enterprise’s financial reports so it would need to be something more focused on the social side if he did pull him out. 

Homeschooling for the legal schooling requirement with something additional was an option. 

The Teen Titan’s was certainly an option for that and would put in an environment where he wouldn’t need to watch himself quite so much but there was a part of him that was reluctant to let his youngest go like that. They were still getting used to each other and the regular training the Teen Titan’s did all living together was a little too reminiscent of the way Damian was raised for him to be comfortable with. 

“I'll speak to him and see what can be done.”

Only the Riddler broke out of Arkham that night and there was some drama with Selina and time passed without them having the conversation. He started to pull together different options so that he could give them to Damian all at once when they had the talk but he was busy with all his responsibilities. When Alfred brought it up again weeks later he felt guilty and promised he'd do something. 

Perhaps he could get Dick to speak to him first, they got along best.


	4. Chapter 4

After the encounter that day Titus seemed to find no end of holes in the fence to the point Damian was pretty sure he was creating them when no one was around. The groundskeepers all swore that they’d walked that length of fence and fixed all the holes but somehow a day or so later one would mysteriously appear again. 

Marinette wasn’t always out in the grounds when Titus went looking and so far Damian had managed to stop him before he attempted to make his way into the woman’s manor but he suspected it was only a matter of time before that occurred. 

When she was about through he usually found her sat on the ground with her sketchbook propped on her knees as she tried to get whatever her latest inspiration was onto the paper, or out with her camera taking shots to use later on in her designing process. On one occasion this had involved her hanging upside down from a branch by just her legs so she could get just the right shot of a specific bit of bark she said had the perfect texture. Luckily there had been a big big pile of dead leaves at the base of the trunk since Titus decided that was the perfect time to bark his greeting and startle her into letting go. Even though it was only a two meter drop onto something relatively soft, Damian made sure she was okay before joining smiling as she giggled under the great dane’s attention. 

They had taken to talking a little bit about their projects and he increasingly was finding himself interested in her design processes and actually found himself taking an interest in fashion. Not the over the top dresses seen on the biggest runways but the practical kind she specialised in where it was designed for the person. It seemed like it would be infinitely better than the suits he was forced into when attending the formal events his family hosted. Much as they were tailored for him they didn’t allow for easy movement that he favoured in clothes. 

She seemed busy getting ready for the gala with a seemingly overflowing schedule for dress designs, but perhaps he could talk to her about commissioning her for something when she was less busy. It would be interesting to see her process from start to finish and she was nice enough to answer his questions when he had them. 

On a few occasions he’d brought his sketchbook and charcoal out with him in preparation for his errant pet and they’d had pleasant afternoons drawing together. It was odd for him to like and he dared to say perhaps even trust someone so quickly but he found her presence to be calming and the way she didn’t seem to expect anything from him was pleasant. The contrast between the people at school wanting his attention for his family name or his family with how they were always assuming the worst of his behavior and how Marinette seemed to have an easy acceptance of him was almost jarring. 

Plus as he discovered after a few weeks of this occurring she often had a surplus of snacks on herself, and after mentioning he was vegetarian with a dislike of sweets they seemed to be often featuring the cheese and spinach pastry swirls that were a treat in his childhood. Even Alfred hadn't managed to pinpoint his favorite foods in the time it had taken her, it was rather impressive but she had brushed it off. 

If it wasn’t for their occasional conversations mentioning her company MDC, and a little bit of research after confirming that it was incredibly successful with herself and her partner heading up the design departments for custom clothing and jewellery, he would have thought she was trying to butter him up. Honestly though, he was getting the impression that she just liked making people happy and after the childhood he’d had as an assassin and then a vigilante it was rather refreshing to know there were still people like that out in the world. 

That day he found her smiling at the edge of the woods dressed in what he was pretty sure was a mix of thermals and thick woollen garments with a steaming cup in her hands. It was an amusing sight to see considering there was only a mild chill to the air with the first frost having been that morning. 

“Feeling cold?” The amusement must have been evident in his voice since she stuck her tongue out at him in a childish gesture he had discovered was fairly common for even adults. Perhaps some of Dick’s behaviors weren’t quite so outlandish, although he was pretty sure a grown man swinging from the chandelier was going to get a remark in any company. 

“Winter’s starting so I thought you might want to come inside instead of our usual chats. I can show you some of the progress on the dresses I’ve been designing. Chloe’s about too so you can meet your more elusive neighbour!”

It would be nice and he might get to see some of the designs in cloth instead of just paper but it went against everything both of his parents trained him in. Much as they had been talking the last few weeks, or was it months now that winter was approaching, she was still largely a friendly and kind stranger who his dog had taken a liking to. 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to. I can pop in and fill up a thermos of coffee for us, or whatever you like to drink to keep warm, and we can sit out here?”

Her willingness to sit outside still when the cold obviously made her uncomfortable pretty much secured his response. He got the feeling she regularly disregarded her own comfort for other people. Plus with the days getting shorter it wouldn’t be long until it was dark.

“Going inside sounds...pleasant?”

Her laugh was the usual chiming of bells as she led him towards a manor built much in the same style but significantly smaller than his family's one. Only it seemed to have a warm friendly glow to it, like it was full and cosy despite there only being two people that he was aware of as permanent residents. A few others were mentioned as passing though but Chloe seemed the only constant person. 

Walking in it was everything he was really expecting. Decorated in warm colours, lots of reds and burnished golds and an assortment of bright colours in a bit of mishmash that seemed to give the room more personality than if it had been completely tastefully done and that was just the lobby. Titus was skittering backwards and forwards between all the open doors which all seemed to have a similar scheme. 

A room full to the brim with fabrics and dress forms with half complete projects pinned to them. There was one with scraps of metal glittering on the workbench that could be seen and the curves of what looked like all the more modern equipment for doing casting and amusingly at least three different fire extinguishers visible from just the doorway as they walked past. 

Had it been a trip to his manor they would have been going to a formal drawing room that was often used for receiving guests. Instead they went through to the room that the women must have used as their primary living room which was attached to the kitchen with just a counter separating them. Something he was sure must have involved removal of a wall by the current owners since what he knew about the Drake’s suggested they would not have wanted to see the kitchen staff while in what he suspected was previously a dining room. 

There was a blond at the stove humming a cheesy pop song and flipping crepes, a couple of pans bubbled in front of her and the entire room smelt gorgeous. 

“Is this your artistic trespasser then?” Marinette elbowed her, chastising her for teasing him as he felt a blush adorning his cheeks. The woman was taller than him and from her well cared for nails and hair he got the impression that the messy bun and yoga pants ending in a pair of obscenely fluffy slippers weren’t her usual attire. Something more business smart seemed like it would be her day to day style. From his research into the MDC brand he knew this was the co-owner Chloe who was the public face of the business. 

“This is Damian from the Wayne manor next door.” The sharp lance let him know that she knew exactly who he and his family was. Perhaps Marinette just was that oblivious then. “And this gorgeous boy is Titus.”

Titus barked quietly in greeting and the blond swung around, passing the skillet over and recreating the scene from Marinette and Titus’s first meeting. At least the blond was going to have no problem if he brought Titus over again. 

It ended up being the best evening he’d had in a while, eating crepes with the two quick witted women who seemed to endlessly debate about which of the gotham vigilantes had the worst outfits but took the effort to include him and ask his opinion. Sitting with plates on laps on a sofa so comfy he wasn’t sure he wanted to move with Titus sprawled in front of the open fire seemed to be the perfect relaxation. 

Luckily he came off more unscathed than a number of his family from their costume reviews, especially since he couldn’t help but agree with them. His Robin outfit while still traffic light coloured was at least significantly toning down the bright colours and he already had plans to make the cape completely black the next time it was damaged. Dick’s original costume did not get away anywhere nearly that lightly, Todd’s mask either and they’d both looked at him in absolute horror at the outfit the ‘Discowing’ outfit Dick had donned. 

The man was now trying to bury all existence of it but the internet never forgot and pictures popped up every so often and got handed around the family so that he never forgot. The black cowl phase Drake went through was also a bit of a fashion disaster but it was less in your face so he mostly got away with that one. Father got away incredibly lightly in lieu of having a primarily black suit although the bright yellow utility belt got a mention. 

By the time they got to the villains he was also learning all sorts of information about the things that had happened in Paris around the time of his birth. Hawkmoth and the akuma sounded like they were complete fashion disasters. He’d have to look into them to use as interventions the next time Dick decided it was a good idea to change his outfit. 

The time went too quickly and he soon had to head back to his manor to get some sleep before school. There wasn’t anyone about when he got back so Alfred must have been running comms while everyone else was on patrol. 

The echoing emptiness of the corridors as he padded up to his room left him with a twinge in his chest. He sort of wished he’d stayed with the two women, he wasn’t sure anyone would have noticed if he’d been gone for the night. 

\---

“He’s adorable in a kind of broody pre-teen way. Sort of like Kagami before you infected her with your sunshine.” 

Marinette hummed as she gathered all of their dishes. “But…?”

“But nothing really. Just, do you know about his family? You’re making outfits for their Gala.” The beat of silence indicated not before she continued. “They are some of the richest in Gotham if not America and they’re well known with a lot of influence. I don’t want you to get hurt Mari.”

She sighed, it was obvious from the start that he must have been from a family like that. “He just reminded me of what Adrien was like when he first started school. He looked lonely.” Chloe caught her in a one armed hug as she settled back on the sofa next to her, them both thinking of their old friend. Mullo and Trixx snuggled into the heat between the two and Marinette pulled one of the knitted blankets she’d made while stressed over the four of them.

“Just be careful. He seemed pretty interested in design though, might have a budding apprentice there.” Much as they laughed about it, the idea stuck in Marinette’s head.


	5. Chapter 5

Damian came over every few days, looking increasingly embarrassed as Titus took the place as being his territory as much as theirs and just barged his way in. They made sure the doors to all the work rooms were closed and since he kept mostly to the kitchen living room neither of the women had an issue with it. 

It was always through the backdoor and the grounds almost like he was sneaking away from his own home although he reassured them he was content with his living conditions when they subtly questioned him about his family. No mother in the picture but his Father was there and he seemed to like his two oldest brothers and the sisters that lived abroad, despite the teasing, and tolerated the one nearest his age. He even spoke fondly of someone called Alfred who seemed to be like a Grandfather to the lot of the boys. So Marinette was not expecting that the first time he used the front door to enter would be with Titus, a grouchy looking cat who’s mannerisms reminded her of Plagg and a rucksack she would bet good money contained at least one set of clothes. 

“Do your family know where you are?”

“I told them where I would be staying if you were both amenable. Otherwise I will travel to my brother’s place of living.”

“Come in, do I need to see if Chloe can take you to school tomorrow? I only drive a motorcycle.” There was a flash of something bitter and hurt on his face before he turned it slightly away so she couldn’t fully see his expression. She despaired at how many rich kids there were out there that were so bad with their emotions. 

“School is temporarily not a problem and I am hoping time away will give my Father a chance to think of an alternative.”

The opposite of Adrien and sounding uncomfortably like how she was during the years Lila was in her class. “Well this is your room, I’m about to start making dinner so I’ll pop back up when it’s ready if you're not already down. Do your pets need anything special? I’ll get Chloe to pick up some food on her way back.”

He shook his head from where he sat with his cat curled up in his arms and his dog practically draped across his lap like a security blanket. “If you would like to talk about it either of us are happy to listen. Just let us know.” 

Leaving she added food and water bowls and some other toys to keep them entertained to the text she was firing off. It was a good thing her partner was already in town overseeing securing a supplier for some of the more unusual resins she was after. Chloe was always more efficient at the shopping thing. 

After getting an affirmative she dialed the number she’d been given for the Wayne residence from when she’d needed to ask some questions about the upcoming Gala. No one picked up which was a little odd since it was eight at night and Damian couldn’t have been gone long but she left a message reassuring them where he was and that she would look after him then got on with making dinner. 

They were going to have it later in the week but perhaps a sweet potato tagine with spicy couscous would cheer him up a bit. He seemed to favour those kinds of flavours. Pistachio and cardamom cookies might be another good bet, not too sweet but a nice treat for after. 

Nodding to herself she put some music on and prepped some treats for the kwami who were currently active, only Mullo, Trixx, Wayzz and Pollen at the moment, warning them of their visitor. The others were all residing in the box to help Nooroo and Duusu heal so she didn’t have too much worry about them getting caught. Trixx should be able to shield them if something did happen. 

With her miniature charges all fed she got to work on the people food, singing and sliding around the kitchen as she worked. Cooking was always something that relaxed her and with the Gala now only a little over two weeks away she was at the stage of final touches and fittings with a number of her commissions so relaxation was definitely needed. 

Later that night when they were done eating together, Alfred now firmly settled in her lap purring away, she mentioned that she might need some help with commissions and since he was available would he like to learn? 

Marinette thought it might have been the first time she saw a smile that properly reached his eyes. She was probably going to be getting another lecture off of Chloe for this once he'd gone to bed but the light in his gaze made it worth it. The boy was like a mix of the Chloe, Kagami and Adrien she had known in her youth making her want to protect him from whatever was causing so much distress. 

She knew she wouldn’t be able to fully solve it but maybe giving him somewhere to go and something to do as a break would help him shore up his foundations again before he was ready to face the world and his family again. It was something she would have appreciated when she was in school with Lila. 

\---

Waking up in a strange place wasn’t entirely an unusual situation for Damian but there wasn’t usually an incredibly cosy bed and the familiar weight of his pets using him as a pillow. With the League it was always either a safehouse or whatever relatively safe corner he could barricade himself in when he was on the verge of passing out. Even rooms at headquarters where he grew up weren’t always a safe place to sleep, chances were you woke up to discover your daily training had already started, and that tended to be painful. 

As a vigilante it would normally be a hidden rooftop alcove or one of the many ‘nests’ his brothers put together out of sight for when they were in no fit state to make it back to the manor. Better than the League but often coming with the price of an extended time in a confined space with one of his siblings. Cass and Todd were the only acceptable ones since the others liked to subconsciously use him as a teddy bear when they slept. With the exception of Todd and his Father he wasn’t even that much smaller than any of them now so their excuses were withering. 

Opening his eyes there was a flicker at the edge of his vision but it turned out to just be a blank wall. Stretching he looked around properly, having only really glanced around the night before. Definitely a guest room from the tasteful but largely neutral green decor. An oak bed, bedside table, chest of draws and wardrobe made up a majority of the contents with a door leading to an ensuite bathroom. A few paintings of generic flowers adorned the walls but nothing particularly personal so the guest staying didn’t feel like they were intruding on someone else’s space. Overall it was nice. 

His phone told him it was 8am which was significantly later than he would normally get up but the day before had been stressful so perhaps rest was needed. 

The suspension from school was not the best thing, especially since he was on tenterhooks with the school after all the incidents when he had first joined, but he had been trying so hard and this wasn’t something he could have avoided easily. A girl he didn’t recognise had started to talk to him and he’d dismissed her but she'd been persistent so he’d had to be harsher in turning her down. He didn’t want to associate with his peers more than he needed to since they brought the risk of his family’s identity being found out. 

Only a boy who was with the girl, or associated in some way, took offense when she looked upset and grabbed him from behind as he was walking away. Had it been any other student it probably would have been an action not even worth mentioning but he’d been on edge for the whole school year with the extra attention and people trying to talk to him. When he was grabbed the instincts he created as an assassin and worked hard to hone into a less lethal form as Robin kicked in and he’d flipped the boy before the contact had even really registered in his mind. 

With the number of witnesses it had basically been a one way trip to the Principal's office with only a pause on the way out with his Father to grab his things from his locker. Father had only apologised on his behalf, not listening to his side of the story and maintaining a disappointed silence the entire drive back to the manor. The fact that he’d brought up that this was likely to happen because of the stress he was under seemed inconsequential, it was frustrating to say the least. 

So he did what a number of angry teens did. He packed a rucksack with all the things he would need for the rest of the week; not a lot for him and mostly for Alfred and Titus considering how he’d been brought up. 

Alfred tried to talk to him as he headed out the door but much as he knew the man cared and saw him as a grandson there was always the gap where none of them understood his upbringing, sometimes he needed the space away from that. With his cat in his arms and Titus at his heel he opened the door to leave. 

Father was demanding to know where he was going so he shouted back the first thing that came to his mind, that he was going to stay with someone who cared about his side of the story, and marched off down the driveway and once in a blind spot zagged harshly into the woods and out of sight until he found a hole in the fence to mass into Marinette’s side of the woods. 

Going to the backdoor, much as they had both said he was always welcome, was a little awkward so he curved around the house and went to the front. If she didn’t want him to stay he would have to backtrack and steal a car from in town to make his way to Dick’s apartment but Titus already liked it here and he was sure Alfred would settle soon as well. 

Marinette had been true to her word and welcomed him with open arms and a lack of questions about what had gone on which he was welcome for. He would probably take her up on her offer to talk later purely because she didn’t push it like so many others in his life did. She gave him the distance while also showing that she was interested and cared. It made him miss Dick all the more. 

Chloe had been equally welcoming when she returned with her arms full of things for his pets. Not just food and bowls like he thought might come but a whole basket full of toys for them both which Titus especially had pounced upon and Alfred had sniffed with interest in the way cats did before jumping in a box to everyone’s amusement. It made him feel welcome. 

The offer to start working with Marinette and potentially Chloe if the business side or jewelry interested him was almost a dream. Painting had always been his outlet but increasingly the sleek lines of the designs the women had shown him appealed and it seemed like an interest he could have all to himself outside of the wishes of his parents. 

With that thought in mind he slipped out of the bed and started to get ready for the day ahead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter than I had planned so the next few will be a bit shorter. Enjoy!

The week was possibly one of the most liberating Damian had ever experienced. The League had always been stifling with their rules and constraints with everything he did but he hadn’t realised that his desire for his Father’s approval had linked similar chains around him until he stopped reaching for it. The two women didn’t really have any expectations of him and after a life being expected to meet almost unreachable standards it was freeing in a way he had never known. 

Much as he did deep down love his family it made him realise that he needed to strive to change some things and start making a life for himself instead of living the life others expected of him. 

Marinette had taught him silk painting. It was a little of a trial and error thing as he got used to applying and removing the inhibitor as required from the different areas and it was time consuming but he found that he greatly enjoyed the challenge of it. After a day of trial runs he created a small portrait of Titus sleeping in front of the fire with Alfred curled up on top of him. 

It was during making that portrait that he told Marinette what had happened in hesitant words. Explaining about the extra attention from the other students was the easiest but he found himself expanding and telling her about having a bad childhood. About his mother never being affectionate and always pushing him to be perfect, punishing him if he wasn’t. 

At the point where he explained about his mother leaving him with Father despite the man not even knowing that he existed, about the initial conflict between him and his family, he had to put the brushes down for a bit since his hands were shaking too badly. She gathered him up into her arms. 

“It’s not your fault. You’re wonderful. You came from somewhere bad that tried to make you that way but you’ve fought through that.”

“But I always break things. I didn’t mean to hurt the boy but I hurt so many others before everyone thinks I did.”

One arm pulled him closer while the other started to run through his hair in a calming gesture he wasn’t sure he had ever experienced. Much as Mother and Grandfather had trained him to be the best, those lessons had always been harsh and painful, little gestures of affection like this reminded him that he should hate them for never allowing him to be a child. 

“Not everyone. I know you didn’t mean it, Chloe too and I’m sure some of your family does.” 

That statement felt a little like a lead weight in his chest as he stumbled over his words telling them how Father had dismissed his concerns and then not even allowed him to explain. 

“Anytime you need to get away and have a safe place you are always welcome here. Chloe will always welcome you, Kagami will love you and, well, Luka loves everyone.” 

Chloe found them like that some time later and declared that it was a pizza, ice cream and terrible movie night. Damian found himself securely tucked between the two women covered in a blanket with the ice cream tub they were sharing on a tray in front of him as they laughingly critiqued the fight scenes in Princess Bride after completing his introduction to Legally Blonde with the mushroom pizza. 

After that he was helping with actual commissions to his surprise. Everything was of course checked over but there were yards upon yards of royal blue silk to be adorned with a slightly shimmering peacock feather pattern for one ballgown. It took days and a few restarts when something went wrong or he jolted thinking he’d seen something out the corner of his eye, but by the Friday as he left the last part to dry and Marinette, or Nette as she was now insisting, nodded that it all looked perfect he had the same rush of triumph as when he saved someone as Robin. 

She thanked him, saying he was a life saver considering it was a last minute addition for the ball and she wasn’t sure she would have gotten it all done in time between that and the other commissions for her primary clients without his help. They got Chinese takeaway for dinner that night to celebrate, they’d both looked horrified when he said he’d never had it before, and ended up dosing in front of the second Legally Blonde movie after far too much food. 

Was this what it felt like to be normal? 

The next day was the weekend so they all got up late and Chloe started to show him the basics of making wire jewelry at the kitchen counter as they ate leftover takeaway for lunch since it was a push to refer to it as even brunch considering the hour. It was relaxing as he twisted the wire into a circlet, adding coloured glass beads as he went along so that some of the swirls and peaks shone in the light. 

The day passed in that warm lull. Briefly he wondered what was happening back at the Wayne manor. Probably the usual lull as they all slept in following late night patrols or the chaos of those with too little sleep trying to co-exist. 

\---

Chaos was certainly one way to describe what was going on. Chaos and the sound of an enraged voice cutting through the relative quiet of a house designed to hold far more than it’s current residents.

“What do you mean you don’t know where he is?!”

Bruce Wayne was staring up at his oldest from the breakfast table. “We had thought he had gone to stay with you. It would appear we were wrong, however Damian is trained by the League of Assassins and more than capable of looking after himself.”

“And you didn’t think to check? He’s thirteen Bruce! I don’t care how well he can look after himself, he is still a child!”

Even Tim was staring at him with tension in his face, a cold look he hadn’t seen in many years since the man had talked about his parents. But it was Alfred’s look of disappointment that left an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. 

“He has likely gone to Jason’s then.”

“Have you at least messaged him or tracked his phone.”

“He left it behind, no doubt to prevent that.”

Dick punched the ball besides him as he tried to reign his temper in. Jason was best known for his temper with the pit madness clawing at his conscience but it was Dick’s that was the most volatile. Everyone saw his usually easy going demeanor and bright smile and dismissed that he could be dangerous like that when the rage burnt behind his eyes like cold fire. 

“Well I’m going to go find him. I don’t expect you to help.”

The door slammed against the wall as he left and there was the dragging of a chair as Tim stood to follow him after one more coldly judging look. 

He turned to look at Alfred but his father figure had already left. No doubt to help his sons. He would have followed them in another life but he was due for an off world mission in an hour and that gave little time for the dramatics of his youngest. Damian was strong and capable like his mother, he would be fine. 

\---

Dick was pulling on his coat, pausing only for a minute to let Tim find shoes and to fire off a text to Jason to confirm their missing bird wasn’t with him. Much as Tim and Damian weren’t exactly friends they were protective of each other having spent so much time having to watch each other’s backs while in the field. Nowadays it was more brotherly annoyance than true dislike. And he could see how this was affecting his baby bird, memories of his own parents neglect surfacing since like Bruce they hadn’t kept track of where their son was or seemed to care.

“You will need a coat, Master Timothy.”

Tim smiled as much as he could at the elderly man as he took the offered object. “How did this happen Alfred? How did he not check?”

Alfred smiled at them sadly. “Since Master Damian left with Titus and his cat Alfred they might not have gone far. Titus has taken a liking to the women that live in the old Drake manor.”

Dick pulled him into a quick hug and muttered his thanks before darting out the door and straight to his car. There was already a text confirming Damian wasn’t with Jason so he drove to the manor house next door with a little more speed than was allowed or from the alarmed look on the face of the one driver they passed, advisable. Tim was already fielding calls from a rightfully concerned Jason and filling him in as there was the background noise of the man starting his bike up no doubt heading their way.

Much as people in the know made jokes about them being an aviary, all Robins either current or former looked after their own. Capable as Damian was, they weren’t going to let their littlest bird, although not by much anymore, out of their sights for a while once they knew he was okay. 

The car returned to a more reasonable speed and driving style as they approached the other manor, the previous display the exact reason every driving assessor with the Bludhaven police force paled and tried to fake illness when Dick so much as looked in their direction. It was a point of pride that he held all the speed records on any course they had, by a lot. 

Despite the uncertainty on Tim’s face and how tense he was from being near his childhood home, Tim joined him as he rushed to the door. Hopefully their bird was here or they were going to have one hell of a search. Trying to find a trained assassin who’d also been trained in evasion by the Bats was going to be hell. 

A cute petite woman about his age with the brightest smile he thought he’s ever seen, and he knew Jon Kent, opened the door allowing them a look at the inside. It was homely and warm looking, like it should have been a cottage or family home rather than a manor house. The tension practically bled out of Tim as he saw how different it was to the place he remembered. 

“You must be Damian’s brothers! I was wondering if I was going to have to bring him back to you or not.” Even her voice was the cheeriest thing he had heard, how was someone like this possible in a city like Gotham. “Come along, he’s in the kitchen with Chloe. I’m Marinette, are you Dick, Drake or Todd?”

Tim rolled his eyes at how Dick was the only one who got his first name used before shooting off a text to Jason. They all knew who the favourite was to their little bird. 

They were led through the house by the woman, Marinette, showing that it was as homely throughout as the entryway suggested. Alfred the Cat came along and twined around their legs before jumping into the woman’s arms. Definitely the right place then. 

Reaching the kitchen they couldn’t quite get the domestic scene that unfolded to tally in their minds. This was Damian, their brother who scorned everything normal and remotely family like. Had to be forced to spend time with them at first, although admittedly was a little more willing now he's aged a bit. The boy who still regularly threatened them all with stabbing when they annoyed him, which was regularly. 

Yet here he was, in the house of two women they didn’t know making what appeared to be jewelry and wearing some earlier creations in pyjama bottoms and a hoodie while his dog slept by the fire. Alfred mewled at them and the spell was suddenly broken. 

“Damian!” 

And with that Dick was across the room and sweeping their startled little bird straight off the stool and into a hug. Tim walked across and gave them a brief hug himself which earned him a bemused look from Damian before stepping back and letting Dick release the verbal cascade he was holding in on how they were so worried and they loved him and he had to let them know where he was.

The two women stood watching the dramatics as Damian now tried to free himself from their octopus of an older brother. “He said he’d told you where he was? I left a message on the number I had as well.”

“Not exactly in those words. He said he’d gone to someone that cared and Father assumed it was one of us.” Although the message would explain how Alfred was able to direct them to the right place thank goodness. 

“Ah.” This was from the blond woman this time who had an icy look on her face now. Someone he thought was potentially a kindred spirit for parents who didn’t quite pay the correct sort of attention to their children. Marinette looked distraught. 

“Thank you for keeping him safe.”

“He’s welcome any time he wants to come.” The words echo the type of thing he’d heard so many years ago from Alfred and eventually Bruce but in the opposite direction. That was sad. 

The rumbling of a bike was heard as Jason arrived not long afterwards, just as Damian was finally making his way out of Dick’s clutches only to get swept back in as the larger man squished them back together in a hug that lifted them both off of their feet. The venomous “Todd” and whining “Jay” amusing the three onlookers who were now watching the drama with cups of coffee. 

Tim left within the hour, getting a lift back to the manor with Jason so that they could both have words with Bruce before they would be bringing Damian back. Robin was supposed to be patrolling that night but for the first time it seemed like Damian had forgotten and they wanted to encourage him to have something outside of the mask. 

Dick stayed after some warm acceptance of the two women who seemed happy that someone cared enough about Damian to come find him. They had been getting concerned since it was soon coming up to a week. Discovering that the brother he least thought would be interested in fashion had spent the week helping make high profile commissions for the Gala they were soon hosting was a surprise. 

An offer to train their youngest was even more surprising but he resolved to talk to Bruce and make sure it happened. The suspension, fight and subsequent running away was evidence that school wasn’t going well for Damian and perhaps this apprenticeship was a good move. With some online classes if he wanted them to keep on top of other learning, although Damian had taken the final exams years ago in an attempt to get out of the school system so they weren’t strictly required. Plus he seemed to be socialising much better with these two women through choice and accidental meeting than when learning to socialise was forced on him. 

Even though they had separate guest rooms Dick found himself slipping into his little birds room to check he was okay, memories of what had happened to his other little brothers surfacing in his mind. When Damian grumbled in his sleep and pulled him into the bed with a grumpy comment about stopping hovering and keeping him awake Dick gathered him in his arms before finally peacefully falling into slumber. Despite waking up to a knee to the stomach as his disgruntled little brother tried to escape his hug it was worth it to have the confirmation that he was safe. 

Neither of them were awake to see the amused soft look on Marinette’s face when she popped her head in to check on Damian.


	7. Chapter 7

“The little one feels like he’d be fun!”

“Plagg!”

Marinette spun around from the front door where having just waved the two brothers off, Dick taking her details so that he could be in touch about the potential apprenticeship. The idea of it made her grin, it was exciting to teach someone who had an interest in the same things she did. 

The awakening of the Black Cat was something none of them had been expecting anytime soon but it was a pleasant surprise. And if Plagg was awake then so was “Tikki!”

Her oldest partner flew towards her as Marinette pulled her into the closest to a hug they could manage. There were tears in both of their eyes as they reunited only to be interrupted by Plagg with his usual whining for Camembert. 

Laughing she led them to the kitchen while calling for Chloe to join them, she had some cookies to bake in celebration. Some cheese danishes too to keep the tiny cheese gremlin happy, although Mullo would appreciate those too. 

When the excitement of their awakening died down and the first batch of cookies were in the oven as the danish dough cooked in the fridge the two humans and the entire collection of Kwami that Marinette cared for set around the kitchen table. The two women both had stupidly strong coffees but the presence of all the miniature gods they lived with it seemed like they were going to need them. 

Tikki and Plagg seemed to be the leaders for this meeting so they both turned to them with inquisitive eyes and a raised brow. “Is there anything wrong Tikki?” Plagg wouldn’t give them a straight answer. 

Her Kwami looked excited though, if a little nervous. “Nothing bad as such. Trixx let us know that the boy that was here had a lot of Plagg’s style of energy, more than is natural, and a lesser amount of mine.”

Chloe glanced at her but they honestly weren’t surprised. It sounded like his childhood had been less than ideal so the chaos energy and bad luck seemed like something that might have stuck. 

“And you’re all out here because of that?”

It was Wayzz that spoke up this time. “Guardian, we have all been feeling the imbalance towards chaos that resides in this city, yourself included and -”

“Yeah, it’s going to be soooo much fun!” “Quiet stinky sock!”

“-and we wish to start helping you right it.”

She nodded. This was something they had all been talking about. Since the Miraculous were known for being in Paris, even if they would be in different hero personas, it was too much of a coincidence if they two people from Paris at the time the heroes were active moved to Paris and then they were active there. They’d decided to give it three months both to settle in themselves and scout around but also assess how welcome they would be. Reputation said that Batman was likely to try and drive them away but in this case that wasn’t something the city could afford. 

“The three months is almost up so we're thinking of starting to patrol soon, Kagami will be joining us after Christmas and Luka has some time off of touring in the new year.”

“While that is true the fastest and most long lasting way to right the balance is if the Black Cat and Ladybug were active. And the boy would be a good candidate.”

“No offense Mullo, because you’re great, but it would be nice to have Tikki around again.”

The mild cackle from Plagg was not particularly reassuring in that moment as the literal embodiment of destruction and chaos grinned at her with far too much mirth in his eyes. 

“Baby bug, we’re thinking it’s time you got those claws out!”

While Marinette took a moment to work it out Chloe just blinked at Plagg. “You think she should wear your Miraculous and Damian Tikki’s? Would she even be able to switch like that?”

The voice of reason that was Tikki spoke up as the other Kwami sat back to watch the drama. “The two of you are well suited for both Miraculous, but the boy has traces of being near a Lazarus Pit, less than the tall one but still present. Plagg may push his soul too far towards that side so some of my creation should help balance him out.”

The part about the Lazarus Pit was certainly concerning from what she had been told about them. The consequence of a wish gone wrong like all the others before and after it. A magical pool of water which could heal the body of any wound, even death, but at the cost of the mind. Considering what Damian had said about his mother and how she could tell even upset he had been heavily censoring himself, it sounded like it was not a good thing although a problem to be sorted later on.

“And you, my new little kitten are tipping the other way in the balance so this will work out best for both of you. Excess Creation is more subtle but just as harmful in the long run.”

All the other kwami piped up in agreement and they moved on to discuss their plans. They had the Wayne Gala first, now as guests since two tickets arrived through the letterbox meaning they needed to do the finishing touches for two of the formal dresses they kept in reserve for such occasions. Being considered family to Uncle Jagged and being close friends with his son, not that it was public knowledge that that was what Luka was, meant they had to be ready for last minute formal events. The rock star had got it into his head that all the events would be more fun with them along. 

Later that night Chloe suddenly started to giggle, staring at her with wide eyes. “You’re going to have Plagg and Mullo with you?”

“Yes?” She really did not know where this was going. 

“So you’re going to have the only two Kwami who eat cheese on you. Two Kwami who are both very possessive about their cheese.”

Marinette could practically feel the colour draining out of her face. Oh shit. Everyone assumed that Mullo was sweet and gentle but honestly she wasn’t sure which of them was going to be worse.

\---

The manor was quiet when Damian got back to it, Alfred the cat and Titus rushing off to do whatever they usually did during the day while unattended, possibly make new holes in the fence. He was swept up in a hug by an unusually emotional Alfred to his bemusement as Dick apparently went to locate the rest of the family. He was unimpressed but not surprised that Father had gone on an off world mission in the time he was gone and was not expected back for weeks. 

His brothers though seemed to have taken exception to his absence and decided that they needed some family bonding activities, which was why they spent the afternoon running into the evening watching bad action movies with blankets and a constant stream of warm drinks courtesy of Alfred. After two movies worth of nagging from the four of them and a little guilt tripping from Damian about how he had missed the man that week, even Alfred joined them for a while with some snarky commentary on how impractical some of the outfits and stunts were.

Damian was reminded of the debate he’d had with Marinette and Chloe that first time and promised himself that he would reignite it if he ever got all of his family in the same room as the two women. 

It would be hilarious. 

He also suspected that they would get on well with Alfred. Perhaps a little two well as images of the three of them politely and cheerfully taking over the world came to mind. Still, considering what the world got itself into sometimes maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.


	8. Chapter 8

The smile on Damian’s face was the brightest Dick had ever seen from the boy when he let him know that he had Bruce’s permission to start the apprenticeship. The man wasn’t here to tell him but Dick had been badgering him with messages while he was offworld until he’d said if Alfred thought it was a good idea then he was fine with it. Then he’d worked with Tim and Chloe to make it all legal so that it classed as a proper educational program. 

It took them a week to sort the final details between commissions and preparing for the Gala but the school had been more than happy to get Damian out of it and compiled without any fuss. After a few strings pulled and a little bit of hints about how beneficial collaborations with his family were, they were able to get the Art College in Gotham to be sponsor for the apprenticeship, provided that he submitted final year projects that were to the correct standards he would receive a degree in fashion and design at the end of it since he already had his high school diploma so early. 

Everything was finally ready and agreed just in time for the Wayne Gala so Damian would be starting that Monday much to the joy of his brother. Every week day he’d be going across between nine and five to learn from the two women. As his acceptance letter Marinette had made him a tie out of the silk painting he’d done of Titus and Alfred the cat. Dick had to suppress a totally manly squeal at how adorable his little bird was when he immediately put it securely away to show off later. 

Bruce wasn’t back yet so as the oldest Dick had spent a lot of time helping Tim with Gala planning. It was almost a good thing the Bludhaven Police Department felt he was too unreliable and didn’t want him back after all the times he’d had to take extended time off to help his family. He was a little bitter about it considering how many corrupt Officers there were on that Force but it gave him a push to move back to Gotham. Although, while his flat sold and he found a new place that meant a mix of staying at the manor and gatecrashing the various safe houses his brothers had around the city. 

The last of his stuff, carefully boxed up by himself and supervised by Alfred in case there were any forgotten vigilante things around, was coming that morning while he was busy ensuring the venue for the Gala was secure and set up as planned so apart from a few appearances of Nightwing so that his move and the vigilante’s didn’t line up that part of his life was over. 

Still there was plenty to be getting on with while he found a job. They were making the excuse that Bruce was currently down with the flu and wouldn’t be coming to the Gala so Dick was essentially in charge. Tim was running himself ragged acting as full time CEO instead of the co-CEO he was supposed to be, so part of the job was making sure Tim was still conscious by the evening. If he saw his baby bird mix energy drinks into his coffee and chug it one more time he was calling for an intervention, probably with sedatives. 

Jason for all his arguments with the family was the easiest to help, although little wing was probably not going to see this as helping. Luckily the pictures of an unconscious Red Hood being carried by Nightwing across the rooftops and driven away in the Batmobile, all unusually in the light of day, wouldn’t make front page news with the Gala overshadowing everything else. Plus at this point their weird antics were almost expected.

There was rather a lot of swearing when Jay woke up in one of the Manor guest rooms with a tailored suit hung in very plain sight but Dick felt he’d accomplished his mission. Jay would spend the entire evening bitching about the food being too small and the people too slimy for his tastes but he’d attend. It also helped that the money being raised at the event was in aid of shelters and resources for the homeless community of Gotham, focusing around Crime Alley.   
Cass and Steph wouldn’t be able to make it since a case involving human trafficking they were following in Hong Kong was reaching a peak but they sent their best wishes and hoped they would make it for Christmas. 

With just five hours to go Dick felt like it might all go well. The venue was sorted, the catering on track, all the staff seemed happy and knew what they were doing. The guest list was finally finalised with everyone confirming their plus ones. Alfred, bless that man, had sedated Tim so his baby bird would at least look less like a zombie. Jason and Damian were even watching a movie together which was sweet if you ignored it was about assassins and they were commenting on all the inaccuracies and how they would do it better, but Dick was most certainly ignoring that part. 

Three hours passed quickly and he was waking up Tim and ushering the lot of them into various bathrooms before setting an example and showering himself. They donned suits, arguing over what weapons they were allowed to have on their person considering it was a publicised event that they were hosting only to have almost all of them confiscated by Alfred. 

By then it was time for them to leave and Dick was already exhausted. He would never comment about the housewives who did organising these types of events while looking after their families again. They weren’t even there yet and he was tempted to curl up on the back seat of the car and sleep instead. Duty unfortunately called, even if it wasn’t the duty he was used to. 

Being a little bit early, something no one expects considering Bruce’s playboy public persona, meant they avoided a majority of the media who’d be coming when all the people who thought it was fashionable to be late turned up. A few photos of them walking in together, a little grumbling from Jason, and they were in without any fuss. It meant they were first but Dick took the chance to station Jason and Damian at the front to continue their mildly horrifying conversation while he ordered Tim and himself coffee and led his baby bird to lobby where they would be meeting the guests and being the public faces of the Wayne family. 

Bruce’s ancient Aunt Mildred was going to throw a fit when she realised it was the adopted sons doing it but by this point he didn’t care for her opinions. Bruce could deal with that fiasco whenever he decided to show his face on the planet again. 

An hour or two of fake smiles as they both plied and played the businessmen and stars arriving off against each other to ramp up the donations seemed to take an age. So it was nice when two familiar friendly faces arrived. Dick waved Chloe and Marinette over with the intention of letting them know where Damian was to keep his brother occupied when he actually got a look at the two women. 

They were both gorgeous. He really should have expected it considering they literally ran a fashion business and were bound to know how to make clothes flattering. Chloe pale blue to the floor dress with gold embroidery that shone as she walked so you kept picking out different details. He was half sure there were little foxes playing along the hemline under the sheer top layer of the skirt. She looked gorgeous. 

Marinette however, just wow. 

The off the shoulder dress showed off her surprisingly muscular shoulders and arms while the higher hemline at the front emphasised her shapely calves. It helped that since her dress was primarily black with bright blue detailing and embroidery that the skirt shimmered like the night sky, she was also in his colours. 

He could feel a blush creeping onto his face as he greeted the two of them, hopefully it wasn’t too obvious. There was something about people who looked like they could take him down in a spar that made him a little hot around the collar. 

She had always been in loose and comfortable clothing that hid those muscles when he’d seen her in her house so the way he was reacting was a little bit of a surprise. Not unpleasant though, especially with the appeal that she already got on with Damian who was by far their most prickly family member. Jay and Tim seemed to like her two and Alfred definitely approved if he was allowing the Apprenticeship to go through. 

While he wasn’t entirely sure what he said to the two of them he was pretty sure nothing was too terrible. The look of amusement on Tim’s face as he suggested asking them to dance later was not entirely appreciated. 

Although that wasn’t a bad idea. 

\---

Much as she’d been regretting agreeing to attend despite Chloe’s insistence, Marinette found that she quite enjoyed the evening. Normally these types of events left her feeling superficial but at least this one was for charity. It was a similar part of her that couldn't believe the amount in her accounts when ten years ago she was saving up all her pocket and babysitting money to finally get an overlocker.

Chloe went off to speak to a bunch of the more well off patrons as the face of the company and she found herself with Damian, who looked absolutely adorable as he proudly showed off the tie she’d gifted him, and one of his older brothers. Considering Dick and Drake, or Tim as she had learnt, was at the entrance this must have been Jason Todd. 

They made good company and she found herself enjoying it. Although the highlight had definitely been when Dick had rather nervously come and asked her to dance. Much as she wasn’t one for the formal types of dancing or any type of dancing really considering the clumsiness she hadn’t quite grown out of. Luckily he knew what he was doing and led her through the steps, whispering in her ear where she needed to put her feet until she got into the rhythm of it and started to relax in his arms. 

It definitely helped that he was so attractive in that well tailored suit, although not perfect and she was seriously considering asking to make some adjustments, but it was the awed affection in his eyes when he thought she wouldn’t catch him watching her that made her breath catch in her throat. 

She barely realised that they had been dancing for song after song until the evening started to wind down and Tim was apologising to them for having to take Dick away to do the goodbyes to their guests. Chloe and Jason were watching the two of them with amused smirks and she was sure they were both going to be teasing about this later. 

Damian’s narrowed eyes following his brother spoke of a shovel talk in the near future. Hopefully the boy wouldn’t scare his brother off too much, although that might be a good thing, after all the man needed to go through the trial by fire that was meeting her friends. 

Still her feet were beginning to ache and her eyelids drooping at the late hour as Chloe helped her gather her things. As they said goodbye to the rest of the Wayne’s and headed to the car she felt a surge of courage as she pressed a kiss to Dick’s cheek before climbing in their car. 

The image of a bright red Dick with Tim clutching his knees in hysterics filled the wing mirror and warmed her heart.


	9. Chapter 9

Damian much to his disgruntlement found himself dropped off by all of his brothers and Alfred on his first official day as an apprentice fashion designer. Todd hadn’t even stayed the night, just arrived in the morning claiming he was there for Alfred’s pancakes and then joined in the chaos. Officially Todd was ‘catching up’ with Alfred while Tim and Dick were getting a lift to Wayne Enterprises and since he was on the way it made sense to all travel together. 

He was not fooled when they all piled out of the car to wave him off, cooing and he was pretty sure at least one of them was taking pictures. Was this what most children had to put up with on their first day of school? They hadn’t done this when Father had forced him to attend an actual school although admittedly he may have maimed anyone that tried around that time. The cultural adjustment had not gone well. 

Luckily Marinette let him in quickly and blew a kiss at Dick with a wink that ended with his oldest brother going bright red as the others cackled. While he wasn’t quite sure what he thought about Dick being interested in his mentor, and in some ways mother figure since Mother didn’t fill that role particularly well and Selina had little interest, they did seem well matched. Both had sunny personalities that seemed to fill the room they were in. 

Perhaps he would reserve judgement until it progressed a little further even if the flirting was annoying. Dick had been almost too cheerful after the Gala and he suspected he knew why, the early morning singing was appreciated only by Alfred. 

It also came with the dilemma of which of them he gave a shovel talk to. Perhaps both of them? A thought for another day. 

The day was not the most thrilling start but he understood the importance of planning and making sure that everyone was aware of what was going on, plus he appreciated being included in the process instead of just told. 

His previous teachers had done much of that with their assumption that he wasn’t mature enough to properly make his own decisions. Which was fair considering that they knew very little of his background, being raised as the heir to a cult of assassins wasn’t something his family could exactly put on his school record. He had expected to be included when he showed his proficiency and was vastly disappointed by the reality. Instead he was called out for being argumentative and disrespectful to authority figures even though they had done nothing to gain his respect. 

Marinette and Chloe however took into account any particular interests he had, functionality and how to make clothing that was hard wearing but didn’t overly restrict movement with secret pockets if possible. They just nodded along at that not bringing up that it was a little bit of a strange request. 

They decided that while there wouldn’t be a strict timetable and they’d progress at whatever pace was needed they could have a reasonably stable structure to it. Mornings would be dedicated to theory and teaching him the basics he would need, starting with fabrics and the different uses and how to tell which were best. Afternoons would be a mixture of shadowing or working on independent projects with their help as required. 

Marinette would teach him three days a week focusing on clothing construction, tailoring and design. Chloe would teach him the other two focusing on accessories and how to both design and make them but also how to pair them with an outfit to emphasis its strengths. 

If one of them wasn’t available then the other would fill in and as they advanced they would start taking him out when they visited clients and how to bargain with suppliers to ensure the best quality products. 

A little more business based than he was expecting but once they explained the need for if he wanted to start his own boutique one day he could definitely see the sense. Especially as the life of a CEO like Drake had at WE wasn’t something that overly appealed to him, while he was happy to help on the odd occasion he wanted something different than the future Mother and Grandfather set out for him.

Lunch was a quiet affair with crepes, something he also found himself interested so lessons in baking when inspiration was low were added into the agenda. Both women claimed it was a very good way to destress and let your mind mull over ideas. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be terrible like his brothers since he’d been proficient in the making of poisons and antidotes, perhaps Alfred would let him use the manor kitchen on weekends. 

After lunch was a little hectic as they both tried to show him everything they were working on, from concept designs for the more everyday affordable range that could be mass produced to the personalised commissions they were doing for a long list of celebrities and families like his own. It was all quite extensive. At least there was little chance of him being bored, especially if the stories of Jagged Stone’s crocodile were even an ounce true. 

He found himself smiling as he got back to the manor, Dick a little suspiciously insistent on picking him up. This seemed like a good thing. 

\---

His night life as Robin, while not the typical ‘night life’ that other teenagers had was also going suspiciously well. Dick and Todd were taking turns in going out as Batman so that they could spread the responsibility of it and try to maintain their own identities, especially since Nightwing needed to be seen in Bludhaven for a little while more before the shift back to Gotham would seem less suspiciously times with Dick’s relocation. 

Both of them were taking him along as Robin and he was finally being allowed to patrol on week nights since Father was gone even if Dick was imposing an earlier curfew on weeknights than the rest of them had. The freedom of swinging between buildings and feeling the rush of the air against his face paired with taking down people who meant only harm was invigorating. 

There had been sightings of two new figures on the rooftops of the city in the last couple of days so they were all on the lookout for two women, one dressed in a mouse costume who appeared to wield a jump rope and the second in a fox theme with a flute. Considering the number of animal themed alter egos that resided amongst both the heroes and rogues of Gotham the verdict was out on which side they would fall on. 

Midnight came too soon and he was sent back to the cave to rest for the following day leaving the older members leaping from roof to roof. At least they allowed him to drive the bike himself instead of insisting he was always a passenger. The age restrictions on driving in this country were rather restrictive since he’d learnt as soon as he was large enough to reach the pedals. 

\---

The month passed quickly and despite the start of his training seeming like it would be basic, the depth and passion that both women had for those basics of their craft had Damian looking at fabric in a different light. There was such importance in the stretch and weight of a fabric to how it would drape and flare. Would it be sturdy enough to hold the shape they wanted or have enough give to allow movement. It gave him ideas to start working on some simple things of his own as he shadowed and watched the women work as they talked him through the processes they were utilising. 

Mere days before Christmas he found himself finishing off the last of the Christmas presents for his family during the time for his own projects. They were a mixture of silk painted and embroidered scarves, ties and pocket squares each customised for his family's tastes. A few more stitches and he would be done with Alfred’s initials. 

There was an odd sound, like light rustling fabric and then a cackle. His head snapped up in time to see a small floating cat carrying a lump of cheese streak across the room. 

The same sound again this time with shouting as a similarly sized floating mouse follows in hot pursuit. “-agg, give me back my cheese! You ate yours!”

“Neve-”

And then they were both gone through the wall at the other side of the room. There was a thump as Marinette’s head collided with the table in front of her, masterfully avoiding any wayward pins. He couldn’t quite make out her words but from the tone he was pretty sure it was a mixture of threats and swearing. 

The rest of the afternoon was enlightening and shook the foundations of his world view. The former from the existence of Kwami, the latter from discovering that Marinette really could be terrifying when she put her mind to it which she most definitely was as she was scolding the literal personification of chaos and destruction. 

While the existence of the Miraculous had been a myth that Grandfather had mentioned in some of his more power hungry rants when he was celebrating the genius of their ancestor who had wished the Lazarus Pits into existence, he like much of the League had thought it a story. A glorified retelling that had lost its original truth as it passed from mouth to mouth. It seemed perhaps like there was more truth than he realised. 

He would need to ensure that Mother and Grandfather didn’t hear of this or the truth behind the Miraculous. Best they look for gems when the thought passed their minds rather than the inconspicuous jewelry worn by these two women. 

Meeting the Kwami, or at least the ones that were outside of the Miracle box since he was told there were significantly more of them, had been an experience in itself. Having a number of small Gods circling and deciding to nest in your hair while discussing how adorable you were was certainly a new experience. 

He wasn’t entirely sure why the cat, Plagg he thought his name was, found him disliking sweets so funny, nor why the ladybird Tikki scowled at her other half for it. They seemed nice though. 

Unbeknown to them all really that would be the day that properly started the new Order of the Guardians. They had their first student afterall. 

From then on when it was just the three of them in the house and later on as others in the know joined them, Damian was never on his own. There was always at least one Kwami at his side. After a childhood of being on his own, only surrounded by people that wanted to train him and make him succeed even if that meant hurting him along the way, there was something fundamentally comforting in the constant presence.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been super busy the last couple of weeks but I should be back to at least weekly updates soon.

There was something about watching almost all of his family together on Christmas that was just so heartwarming for Alfred to see. It was a shame Bruce hadn’t returned yet but considering the anger which was brewing within the older of the boys it was possibly for the best so that the younger could enjoy the peaceful time. Perhaps the confrontation would do Bruce some good and help him connect better to the family upon his return. This self-appointed mission to protect those he cared about was just leading to him hurting them himself. The boy had always been so bad at emotions and it hadn’t improved with age nor parenthood. 

Still he was glad to see Dick, Jason and Tim looking after their youngest, especially with Dick helping him open up and connect to the world in a way Bruce wouldn’t. Plus his grandchildren were just adorable if a little chaotic when all together. 

The girls had returned the night before, a little delayed with what was planned, but glad to be back at the manor in time for the holidays. Since Damian, Cass and to an extent Jason had grown up without any type of festivities the others took it upon themselves to share their various family traditions. 

Tim insisted on a Christmas Eve buffet with games, one of the few times he could remember enjoying doing something with his parents. Something that led to the night before ended up in a fraught game of Monopoly that had lasted too long and resulted in all the young birds complaining as Alfred bankrupted them one after another. Only his little bat, the least chaotic of them all, could really give him a challenge in such a thing and she did. Much as Cass wasn’t one for words it was something they didn’t need as they battled it out with gestures. 

Steph had the tradition of watching Muppets Christmas Carol with hot chocolate and cookies later on once they could all eat again after the christmas lunch. He already had the cookie dough resting in the fridge so they could be freshly baked without much effort. To his surprise Damian had been the one to help him prepare them, saying that he was finding baking to be a relaxing activity. It seemed like his mentorship under the two women next door was doing wonders to help him discover other things he liked in life outside of fighting and the expectations of his parents. It was a wonder to see such promising growth after the way his mother, if she could really be called that, had brought him up.

Dick’s was the easiest, a family walk on Boxing Day if possible, otherwise the next day it was dry enough for them all to go out. Yet it was on that he found he enjoyed the most, having them all talking relaxed around him and occasionally getting into ill advised races against each other. Alfred was greatly looking forward to it, unknown to Dick he had also invited along their neighbours. Chloe would be picking her girlfriend up from the airport but Marinette seemed keen on the idea. From speaking to them both over the phone they seemed to care for his grandchildren so perhaps a little match making was needed for his eldest. The boy could be a disaster on his own. 

First though was the chaos of preparing dinner for the whole family with each of them attempting to help with varying levels of usefulness. While he would normally have largely turned their help down, enjoying doing the cooking and feeding his family himself, it was nice on the more important occasions in the year to let them help him. 

Dick and Tim were largely banned from the kitchen and on duty for setting the table and sorting out drinks. Steph was acceptable and kept an eye on everything cooking while cleaning veg for passing over. Cass and Damian were in charge of all the veg since their skills as assassins crossed over surprisingly well with slicing and preparing food, while Jason helped him with the more finicky things like sauces and basting. 

By the time they were all settled at the table and digging in there was the pleasant comradeship between them all, something they struggled with achieving outside of their masks. He smiled as he watched Damian and Tim argue over who was getting the last of the roast parsnip only for Steph to spear it away under their noses. 

Clean up went quickly in the excitement of the presents to follow. 

Considering they were all wealthy it tended to be less about expensive gifts and more about getting the person something you thought they would like. An enjoyable time, even if some of the gifts were more of a teasing nature than practical amongst his birds. 

A set of cufflinks with an A on them from Dick, some variants on his favourite tea that he had yet to try from Jason and a phone upgrade including an app which linked directly to the trackers that were attached to their vigilante suits from Tim. The girls had obviously gotten their gifts while in Hong Kong since they were a traditional tea set with accompanying tea and a recipe book of the local delicacies. 

The gift from Damian was surprisingly light considering the variety of concealed weapons they had all received in years prior. The littlest bird showed his affection most of the time through making sure that they were capable of defending themselves. This however seemed to be a little different than the theme of the last three years. 

Peeling the tape away from the wrapping paper carefully he could see some fabric underneath. The second piece came off allowing him to reveal the prize inside. There was a pocket square and a tie much like the type he would regularly wear but the pattern almost brought tears to his eyes. He wasn’t sure how Damian had known but the peacock feather pattern in the shades of blue and pale pink instead of the traditional green and blue reminded him of his old companion from before he joined the Waynes. Some days he still missed and wondered what had happened to Duusuu. 

Looking around he saw that they all had something along the same lines, handmade ties, pocket squares and silk scarves. All of them correspond to either an interest of the person or their colours as a vigilante. Damian looked a little shy at the awe but the usual grumbling returned when Dick and Steph both smothered him with hugs to show their appreciation in the more physical way they favoured. 

Much as he grumbled Damian didn’t particularly try to escape their clutches so that was progress on previous years. Especially the first where he had nearly stabbed someone for hugging him. 

Not long after he was preparing hot chocolates as the cookies finished cooking and the girls set up Muppets Christmas Carol in the movie room. Jason and Damian came to help him as the only boys who weren’t banned from the kitchen for crimes against the appliances.

Soon enough he found himself squashed on one sofa between Damian and Dick with a cup of hot chocolate in hand and a blanket covering the three of them. The girls took up the second sofa having dragged Tim away from his laptop and coffee to join them with the temptation of cookies. Jason had managed to commandeer the coveted bean bag between the two groups with the cookie laden table in front of him, already happily munching away as the opening song began. 

He had a soft smile as towards the end Damian slumped slightly towards him, curling up to his warmth in his sleep. Much as he was occasionally difficult, his youngest grandson was adorable, not that he could ever say it out loud. He did however manage to capture a picture of Dick carrying a still slumbering Damian as he was put to bed, another one for the personal album of his charges being adorable that they would never know existed if he had anything to do with it. 

\---

The following morning dawned with a clear sky and not even the hint of rain on the horizon so Alfred started to prepare breakfast while his charges slowly arose. Cass and Damian were the first since they were still in the habit of rising with the sun, quickly followed by Jason who was never one to miss out on food considering his childhood. Steph and Tim stumbled down the stairs in a mix between real clothes and pyjamas with Dick energetically talking at them while the two lurched towards the coffee machine. At least it looked like Tim had slept the night before, Steph was just like that in the morning but perked up quickly enough when he slid a plate of waffles across the counter. 

By 10am they were all pulling on shoes when there was a knock at the door. Dick gave him a questioning look as Damian rushed to open it, one boot still unlaced. The slight blush that covered his oldest's cheeks as he saw their neighbour made him tempted to get his camera back out. As he looked over at the dark haired woman, bundled up in the doorway in an abundance of knitted and thick wool layers he felt a kinship that he hadn’t for a while now. 

It was their first time meeting in person and yet he felt like he could trust her with anything, a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time and then only around the Guardian Master Fu from the time he had been a partner for Duusuu. From the questioning look in her eyes it seemed she was sensing something from him as well but a smile seemed to put her at ease. No doubt it would be a conversation for when the others weren’t around. 

A little bit of negotiating, read arguing, over who else was driving and they all clambered into two cars. He was amused to see that Dick had saved the front seat next to him for their guest much to Jason’s chagrin as he had to squeeze his legs in the back with Damian. But they were soon off and he enjoyed the quiet in his car, even in a different vehicle he could tell the other was much less so.

Luckily it was a short trip and they were soon at one of the parks on the outskirts of Gotham that Dr Isley was known to help maintain. It tended to mean that they were a little quieter since not everyone was willing to risk her potential wrath which really was perfect for them, less chance of someone recognising them and kicking up a fuss about seeing the Waynes out. The fresh chill in the morning air even seemed to wake Tim up enough to release his death grip on the monster sized travel mug and reach for the camera around his neck to take photos of some of the birds flying overhead and the more unusual winter flowers. 

Marinette was already deep in conversation with an enthralled Damian as she talked him through the different designs she was being inspired with by their surroundings, laughing when a little robin came and perched on her shoulder for a minute before flying off with a tweet. Unbeknown to the woman she had another Robin gravitating towards her as Dick was watching the two of them with what could only really be described as moon eyes. 

It had been a while since Dick had been like this with anyone but he hoped this would last better than the times with Kori, Barbra and Wally. At least he was still on speaking terms, if occasionally a little awkwardly, with Barbra and Wally. Kori was more unpredictable and it could depend on both of their moods to see if they would clash again or not. 

The way Steph and Jason were snickering as they watched their older brother, pulling kissing faces behind his back while Cass smirked in amusement suggested that Dick was in for some teasing later on. Not that you could blame the others, Dick gave as good as he got with the teasing. 

It was a good day all in all. A memory he would treasure with his grandchildren, even if Bruce wasn’t able to make it. A few hours walking around the park and they all decided it was time to head back for hot drinks and some soup to warm them back up. Marinette unfortunately wasn’t able to join them but her reassurances that she’d pop around later in the holiday with some baking let him know that their talk wouldn’t be too far off. 

He was rather curious how someone so young became Guardian. Those he knew about were all towards the later stages of life. Still, a thought for another day as he made sure his chicks were all warm and well fed.


	11. Chapter 11

Kagami swept her straight into a hug as Marinette walked through the door. Putting her down and pushing a cup of matcha towards her, something they’d both grown to like after attending a number of tea ceremonies together for all their respective cultures. Roar sat at her side munching on the heavily spiced chakuli the small tiger enjoyed, technically it was anything spiced but the snack foods were easy to transport so remained a favourite. 

“You look more cheerful than normal. Suspiciously cheerful. Have you got any news? Someone new in your life Mari-hime?”

Chloe had definitely been gossiping about her then and Mullo’s giggling from her hair wasn’t helping. Between the three humans and the gang of kwami they were sure to badger and tease all of the details of the times she’d met Dick. They weren’t even dating or anything, yet, which reminded her. 

“And what about you? Has a certain blond finally plucked up the courage.”

Kagami’s smile was serene as she nodded and Marinette found her thoughts stuttering to a stop. “She did?! She finally did it?!”

“Actually we asked each other at the same time. Our first official date is tomorrow.” That was perfect for the two of them. She really was surprised neither had asked the other out before then considering how strong minded Chlo and Gami could be but considering they both weren’t always the best with emotions and people it was to be expected really. Still definitely about time. 

“I’m so happy for you!” Kagami accepted the congratulatory hug and the following babble about what type of wedding dresses the two of them wanted, or did they want to go different? Maybe a kimono for Kagami to honour her roots. 

Chloe told her to stop getting ahead of herself, it was only a first date as she joined the two of them. Marinette brushed the words aside, considering how long the two had been close and all the sexual tension for literal years she was almost certain in how this was ending. That and Luka and Fluff had given her a sneak peek, not that she was telling anyone else that. 

Celebrations were negotiated down to a New Years Eve party if their first date went well, and Marinette couldn’t see it going anything other than well between her two friends. Plus Luka had managed to get a bit of extra time away from tour after a venue sprung a leak and had to close down for repair so he’d be joining them by then. It would be perfect and they were insisting they were inviting their neighbours. 

Damian was pretty much certain to be over before then but Kagami had a glint in her eye and a hand itching towards her foil which spoke of a challenge for Dick. Marinette was past trying to stop this over protectiveness, Luka would no doubt do similar. 

\---

Chloe and Kagami went out for their afternoon date to get coffee and pick something up for a nice meal at home and Marinette made herself scarce before they got back. She was absolutely thrilled for her friends and she didn’t want to get in their way, especially if they finally acted on the fog of attraction between them. She most certainly did not need to hear anything like that between her two friends. 

Loading some of her recipe books, mostly handwritten and gifted to her from a combination of her parents and grandfather, and some of the more unusual ingredients into her car she headed towards Wayne Manor to have that talk with Alfred and most importantly share baking tips and recipes with the older man. She had yet to properly master how to make a pumpkin pie and she was determined to get advice from an expert, that pie would not defeat her. 

Surprisingly, Duusuu had emerged from the Miracle Box to join her but the Guardian Instinct she’d developed over the years told her it was a good thing and would help the Peafowl heal. There was a very good chance that Alfred had been Duusuu’s Chosen at some point, he had a stronger version of the feeling she had come to associate with the Peafowl. 

Her suspicion was confirmed when Alfred opened the door to a blur of blue flying at his face and attempting to hug his cheek as much as the tiny god could manage. 

“I take it you’ve met then?” 

Alfred chuckled at her dismay at her once again charges outing themselves so freely. Duusuu at least had the good sense to look sheepish, Plagg and Mullo had felt no such regret for their actions with Damian. It really was a good thing that they couldn’t be seen on camera or anyone reviewing security footage would be coming asking questions. 

Guiding her to the kitchen with one of the ingredients bags in hand he motioned for her to remain quiet, once everything was settled and the kitchen door closed, his eyes locked with hers. “You have some questions?”

“When were you the holder of the Peafowl? Do you know how it became lost?” 

“I was much younger and fighting in a war when an elderly gentleman called Wang Fu formed a special task force which I was chosen for. He would loan out jewellery to a select group for the more important battles. I was given the broach you wear.”

Master Fu hadn’t mentioned that sort of thing specifically but it would certainly explain why he was so reluctant to hand out multiple at once if the last time he had done so lead to the loss of two of them. 

“The group became well known and was thought to be like Wonder Woman had been in previous wars. However some of the higher ups started the push for them to be used more frequently and it wasn’t liked when Wang refused them.

Myself and the wielder of the Butterfly stayed behind within a safe location in our own camp while we guided our Champions. We thought we were safe but something happened and the room filled with smoke, when I awoke my partner had died from a bad reaction to the gas and I would take a few weeks to recover. 

They said it was an errant bomb from the battle that caused it but I believe someone higher up coveted the power for themselves. Either way by the time I recovered both brooches were gone and Wang had disappeared along with the rest of the Miraculous.

What happened to you Duusuu?”

The little Peafowl looked down, ashamed of how she was used. 

“Duusuu doesn’t remember anything until they were fixed and wielded by a villain in Paris. Something happened that left the miraculous broken and along with the Butterfly it fell into the hands of Hawkmoth and Mayura until they were brought to me as Grand Guardian.”

The look of sadness in Alfred’s eyes was almost a comfort. She kept her title a secret because it was usually responded to with jealousy or scorn that someone so young and someone female held it. The few times she had encountered the remnants of the previous Order had left her unimpressed with some of their backwards ways of thinking. 

“How young were you when you received the title?”

“It was over ten years ago so I was about fourteen I think, I’d only been a Chosen for a year at this point.”

His hand reached for hers and she allowed the comfort. “If there’s anything I can do to help you let me know and it’ll be done.”

“A cup of tea and a lesson in pumpkin pie?”

The atmosphere lightened with both their chuckles and they set around the task of brewing and baking. Duusuu perched on Alfred’s quietly chatting with the man as he worked while Marinette had to deal with Plagg trying to persuade her to make cheese bread instead of the bloomer they had planned, thank Kwami Mullo was asleep in her hood and not joining in. 

The squeak from Duusuu and Plaggs leap into the pocket of her hoodie let her know that someone must have returned to the manor before the kitchen door opened. 

“-ink she’s cute! The moon eyes and the way you trailed after her like a little bird certainly said it all.”

“Liiitttllle Wiiinnng! Stop it. Baby Bird, tell him to stop.”

“You were pretty red.”

“Urgh, betrayed by my own family.”

Damian’s exasperated face came into view only for him to light up as he noticed her pulling a loaf of bread out of the oven. 

“Marinette! Can I help?”

The squawk and three other heads poking up from the doorway let her know who it was that had been talking. Dick did look adorable when he was flustered and she wondered if it was her that they were talking about. She certainly hoped it was. 

At Alfred’s insistence she ended up staying for tea, a spicy lentil soup with their fresh bread and some cheese straws she had shown Damian how to make after the older boys had left and Mullo joined in Plagg with the nagging. Chloe was so right about that pair being a nightmare. 

It was such a lovely opportunity to flirt with Dick a little bit more and even convince the man to come around for a design consultation while she dragged all the teasing she could out of needing accurate measurements, Jason and Steph looked especially amused. Plus the faces they all made like they were personally offended when she criticised the fashion choices of their favourite Gotham vigilantes were hilarious. It even got a laugh out of Damian and she got the feeling he didn’t laugh anywhere near enough. 

All in all a good night. Just before she headed out the door she placed the Peafowl broach in Alfred’s hands with a smile. “You said it reminded you of a friend, I think it would be good if you looked after it for a time.”

Steph and Jason looked curious as Alfred swept her in a hug but they both continued up the stairs leaving the two of them to it. Saying goodbye to Duusuu even if not fully considering she was right next door was almost as heart wrenching as Roarr and Fluff going off with her chosen family. Still it was the right choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be Kagami and Damian meeting


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly shorter chapter this time but exciting times for the next chapter

“Damian, I’d like you to meet Kagami, Chloe’s girlfriend.”

The stoic Japanese woman polishing a katana on the kitchen counter and drinking what smelt like green tea was not the sort of person he thought Chloe would have picked as a partner. The smile she sent his way was small but spoke of welcoming acceptance. It was amazing how quickly these women were accepting him. 

He could feel Tikki waving at the small tiger that was lounging in a patch of sunlight nearby from her perch in his hair. She made a good companion even if she was regularly suggesting he try sweeter things much to his distaste. Although the hot chocolate with cinnamon and ginger was reminiscent of the flavours he grew up with so they were slowly finding a compromise. At least she didn’t try and get him to try the awful smelling cheeses. 

When talk of designing Kagami’s fencing uniform for the next Olympics came up it wasn’t talk of clothing that peaked Damian’s interest. Father was reluctant to help him improve his sword skills even in non-lethal techniques so he had found himself plateauing in that aspect. There weren’t a huge number of sword users outside of the League and he would prefer to avoid having to reach out for a teacher less he get pulled back in. 

“Do you practice other forms of sword art other than fencing?”

The woman’s sharp eyes looked him over assessing. “Yes, I have been trained in a number of different forms of the nobel arts to honour my ancestors before me.”

There was a glimmer of nervousness in his gut. “Would you be able to teach me? I was trained with a katana but there is no one accessible to help me further my skills.”

Marinette looked a little alarmed at the interest in the woman’s eyes which he would later learn was because she herself had been trained by the fencer so she roughly knew what was coming when Kagami hummed and then got up and left the room. 

Should he follow her? Was that what she expected? Was this some sort of test like he would have to go through when he was growing up?

But then she was back with two wooden practice swords in hand. “I shall assess your skills and then decide. Mari-hime, could you let Chloe-hime I will be busy for the rest of the morning?” 

The area of clear grass out the back of the house made a perfect place for sparring with the soft ground and the added distractions of the outside world to help hone skills in less that optimal conditions. Taking the wooden sword he dropped into a defensive stance, ignoring the small audience they had acquired along a nearby wall. Tikki was looking worriedly while the Tiger, Trixx and Longg were all watching with anticipation. 

Much as he thought he was used to hard work from his time in the League he had to consider if he might be slipping and getting a little soft since even from the first lunge the blows they exchanged were fast and hard. And they just kept getting harder and faster until he was moving purely on instinct. It was a dangerous frame of mind to be in and he knew he was likely to lose at this point since his moves were more made in desperation than the calculated ones of Kagami. Still he was proud when he held out a few more minutes before she swept under his guard and disarmed him. 

Clapping started from the side of them but he was looking into the dark eyes of the woman waiting for her assessment. “You’re well trained but you need to work on your speed and your reach has changed, your aim is a little off because of it. You may join me for my morning training before your work with Mari-hime and Chloe-hime.”

The stoic appearance of acceptance he was going for was spoilt by the grin he couldn’t quite suppress, especially when Chloe ruffled his hair telling him he’d fought well and Marinette got him a plate of his favourite pastries to replenish his energy with. 

The invite to their New Years Eve party was an exciting prospect too, he’d need to time it around the patrol shifts his family were working out for that night considering it tended to be an active one. Luckily with most of the Rogues either in Arkham or mostly reformed like the Sirens it shouldn’t be too chaotic. 

It would be a chance to meet Marinette’s other close friend and the Aunt and Uncle she talked about designing for. Plus they kept mentioning a crocodile. The Kwami were great but a crocodile sounded like an awesome animal, he’d never been able to meet one before. 

\---

The routine of walking Titus first thing in the morning as a warm up before joining Kagami for training started the very next day. He wanted to show that he was keen, plus Dick was being a little overbearing with the way he was fluttering around them making sure they were all fine. Every time Dick got nervous about something in his life he did this, he’d get over it sooner or later. 

At least Tim with his bad eating and atrocious sleeping habits bore the brunt of it to the point Dick was literally following him to the office to make sure he ate. Steph now had a running bet with Jason on which one of them was going to crack first. He was pointedly staying out of it since he suspected that this time it was not related to Father but rather the blush Dick developed every time someone mentioned Marinette. 

It would be great if his brother would get it over with and ask her out already so they didn’t need to put up with his antics. Damian was giving him until the new year and then he would be locking the two of them in a room together, it seemed to work on those romance movies Chloe liked. 

In the meantime though it left him with mornings with Titus and then sword practice and getting to know each of the Kwami better. Tikki had taken on the task of introducing him to each of them and he was finding her to be a reassuring presence at his side. 

The afternoons he would spend with his family, often Alfred as they drank tea and he helped with any baking the man was doing or down in the cave running through the sword drills he had learnt that morning to help set them into muscle memory. 

The approving smile Cass sent him as she watched over his improving form filled him with pride. They were the only ones that fully understood the high expectations being brought up to be the perfect weapon forced upon you and her approval of his improvement always meant much more than the others. 

\---

Luckily for them all, especially Dick since Tim had found out about the man not only switching all the coffee in the house to decaf but also adding a mild sedative to it, Dick was rather insistent in bringing him to his training the day before the party. 

From the excitement and nervous smiles on both their faces as they talked about where a good place to go for dinner was, and the eye rolling from a hidden Plagg, it seemed like he had finally worked up the courage. Marinette seemed happy enough so he would be refraining from any talks for the time being. Perhaps after the second date he could find them both separately.


	13. Chapter 13

Dick was a little bit of a nervous wreck as he got ready for his date. Marinette was so lovely, like sunshine given human form, and he was just a disaster of a human being at the best of times. He was regretting saying it would be a casual thing since they had the fancy party the next day. 

The arcade first to play a load of games, and let him show off his skills a little bit, then to a dinner for some food and milkshakes. But she was a fashion designer so was a shirt too smart? Nice jeans seemed like an obvious choice, maybe the dark blue slim legged ones that clung to his thighs? He always got served quicker at bars when he was wearing those. 

Was a tshirt too informal though? It was a date, maybe a nice patterned button up but that’d make him look too much like a Kent. Arggghhh!

Damian, blessed child that he was, came storming in muttering about wanting some peace from the incessant pacing. He yanked open the wardrobe, pulled out the nice jeans Dick had already been thinking of, a light grey henley and the Nightwing blue cashmere jumper that was secretly Dick’s favourite before thrusting them at him, demanding he rolled the sleeves up so his forearms were bare and marching off. 

He guessed his outfit was sorted then. His little bird was the best. 

Just needed to make sure Tim ate lunch, although from a distance considering the slightly feral looks he was currently getting from his baby bird, and ensuring Jay was all up to date on the planned patrols for the next night so they could all attend at least some of the party. 

\---

Pulling up on his bike was a bit of a chance for Dick but from the way Mari’s face lit up he knew he’d made the right choice, plus parking in central Gotham was a nightmare in a car. Even without the wide excited grin spreading across her face and lighting up her surroundings Mari looked gorgeous. 

The woman stood in the doorway staring at him was a little bit frightening but as Mari took the helmet and climbed on behind him before waving goodbye he realised she was probably just protective. While they hadn’t met formally he realised she must be Damian’s tutor in sword fighting so both someone he didn’t want to mess with and someone he needed to thank for helping his little bird learn more about something he enjoyed. 

Bruce had always avoided swords and refused to teach Damian outside of how to make sure he didn’t accidentally kill someone. Unfortunately none of the rest of them were particularly qualified for the task so it was nice to know that someone had taken him under their wing. 

Those thoughts faded as Mari wrapped her arms around him, holding on and occasionally whooping for joy as they sped through the streets to the city centre. 

The arcade was in an older and slightly nicer part of Gotham in one of the safer shopping districts. It was fairly full of clusters of teenagers and families playing but still plenty of space for them to play different things as the groups went around. 

Three hours later and a frankly startling number of tickets later the two of them were exhausted but triumphant in their winnings. Much as he thought he was going to be showing off with some of the games, and with Dance Dance Revolution he most definitely did, it turned out they were pretty evenly matched. In fact he wasn’t sure any of his family would be able to beat her in any games that involved throwing or hand eye coordination and the less said about his crippling defeat in Ultra Mecha Strike 3 the better. 

It was a great afternoon though, something a bit different and a chance to get to know each other when their competitive sides were out. The snark was something he would have to get out of her more because that casual confidence really was an attractive look. 

The hardest part was deciding which of the prizes to get. There was a set of four plushie robins all based off the various outfits his family had worn over the years but he didn’t quite have enough tickets for the three based off of his brothers. 

“Big fan of Robin are you?”

The blush was probably telling but for different reasons than most people would think. Anytime people complimented Robin, any of them in fact, he got a mix of self consciousness and pride. 

“They always seem more accessible than Batman. Plus I love the outfit colours.”

Despite her muttering about traffic light children she pushed all her tickets across the counter along with his own, enough for the whole set plus one. The fact that she picked the Robin that represented himself as her own prize made his stomach do a little flutter which he was pretty sure wasn’t hunger. 

Although the rather loud gurgling of his stomach that followed may have said differently. 

Leading a giggling Marinette out to his bike it wasn’t long until he was pulling up outside Bat Burgers, pleased with the bark of laughter as she realised the name. 

“You have places named after your heroes?”

“Yeah, this place is the best! You even see the vigilantes popping in for a mid patrol snack sometimes.” Bruce was never thrilled when they did that but considering they were all incredibly active and in some cases still growing they had the appetite to match. Plus he had no idea what the seasoning on the fries was but he was half convinced it was some type of drug because he really started to crave them if he stayed away too long. 

“I lived above a bakery in Paris, our heroes used to stop by for pastries on occasions.”

They hadn’t known a lot about the heroes of Paris until their villain was gone and them along with them. “What were they like?”

The way she enthusiastically told him all about the heroes of her youth made the rest of the world slip away. He barely even realised they’d ordered, although he did basically know the menu by heart, until the burgers and chips were slid onto the table. Veggie burger, Damian’s preferences really were working their way into his subconscious. 

He could tell from the way that she talked that Chat Noir had been a favourite of hers and how she had always felt sorry for Ladybug and the burden she must have carried needing to win so she could cure the damage from the attack. It sounded like it would be crushing, especially when the other temporary heroes were suddenly revoked after a bad attack. 

Being on your own with the responsibility of an entire city on your shoulders, even shared with a partner, sounded like it would have been almost crippling. Much as they didn’t always get on he knew that his siblings and Alfred would be there for him when he needed it. Push came to shove Bruce probably would as well if he was about. 

Despite that her stories of seeing them were often filled with excitement, if a little terrifying if he really thought through the possible ways going on a date with an akuma could go wrong. His stories of the Gotham vigilantes, or at least the ones he could say while unmasked, were mostly about being rescued following a kidnapping as was the unfortunate tendency for those connected to Bruce. 

They talked for hours, moving on to milkshakes and bat shaped waffles for dessert. It was so nice to be with a civilian who ate like a proper person. It was something that stood out so starkly when comparing most civilians and heroes, whoever told women they should eat salads on dates was a sadist. The healthy cereals especially were just a crime against breakfast (and dinner and tea) foods. 

It was a bit of a job paying the bill when she went to the restroom and earned him a glare much to his amusement but he did promise he’d let her pay for anything on their second date. Considering he was already planning to have it as a romantic picnic under the stars that was perhaps cheating a little bit but she didn’t know that yet. 

Pulling up outside her manor the bubble of nervousness came back. Did he kiss her goodnight? Were they at that stage yet? Maybe walk her to her door but it was 5m away and he didn’t want to seem overbearing. 

Luckily Marinette took the decision into her own hands kissing him on the cheek and wishing him a goodnight as she headed inside, luckily he was still sitting on his bike considering how adorable vertically challenged she was. He’d made the mistake of calling Steph short once and learnt to never repeat that mistake. 

Pulled up in front of his home he felt like he was flying, he wasn’t sure there was anything that could bring him down from this night. 

The number of missed calls on the phone he had been essentially ignoring through was a little concerning and gravity inducing. If it’d had been anything serious that needed Nightwing’s immediate attention Babs would have overridden the silence on his phone. So this seemed like it was a family matter and those were always the worst kind of disaster to deal with. 

Eight missed calls from Tim, three from Jason and a single from Damian and the most worrying considering his little bird’s hatred of phoning people. 

While the manor was eerie in the silence he almost choked on the tension filling the air. Cautiously creeping towards the light coming from their favourite living room the image of Bruce stood over the fireplace glaring at his brothers who were all glaring back came into view. 

Bruce was back then. 

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've developed a sinus infection so the next chapter might be a week or two away, hopefully not though!


	14. Chapter 14

Damian wasn’t particularly impressed with his Father’s timing. The man had been gone almost two months and then just casually strolls in one evening like nothing had happened. Immediately trying to overrule the apprenticeship Dick had managed to set up for him with suggestions of getting to know how Wayne Enterprises worked so he could spend more family time together and he could start learning about the company he’d inherit, only he wasn’t sure he wanted that life anymore. 

It was a good thing Dick had already left for his date or he’d have probably tried to cancel it, always putting them before himself or his mission, unlike other family members. 

Tim looked equally unimpressed from behind his laptop, no doubt continuing to work the day away on WE projects that were supposed to have been spread between the co-CEO but were now falling solely to him. Even with Dick helping out in every way that he could it was a strain on Tim, one that was obvious from the larger black bags under his eyes and the frequent sedatives slipped into his beloved coffee just to get him to take a nap. 

The angry buzzing of Tim’s phone likely signified Jason had been informed and was on his way to hold down the fort until Dick returned. 

“No. I am happy learning with MDC. It has been very informative.”

Father would be having a fight on his hands, there was no way he was giving up the opportunity to spend time learning with the women next door and he knew the rest of the family would be backing him up on that. Even Steph and Cass having only met Marinette seemed to think that it was a good move for him. Although he suspected on their side it was also the advantage of getting future clothing designs from someone who wouldn’t question why a gala dress needed to be easy to move in and have hidden pockets for weapons. 

The potential business opportunity from being a designer within the superhero community was almost endless. The women especially were always struggling to find outfits that were suitable for their respective fighting styles. Perhaps that was something he could bring up with Marinette and Chloe, he was getting suspicious that they had been some of the heroes during their time in Paris and that they were occasionally popping up in Gotham. 

The Kwami around seemed to line up with the animal themes they’d had although perhaps not the same ones they held now, Chloe didn’t seem like she’d be seen dead in orange like the fox hero Rena Rouge. Marinette at least was an easy guess considering how fondly Tikki spoke of their time together. 

Such ideas were however being drowned out by Father ignoring what he said and continuing talking about the advantages of working at WE. Now he had adults that listened to him and not only wanted to know his opinions but valued them, such behaviors were grating. It was almost like being back with Mother where he was expected to follow Grandfather’s commands and never express a differing opinion. He was sure the comparison would not be appreciated. 

Alfred seemed to sense the fraught emotions, coming to let them know that dinner was ready a little earlier than usual and squeezing his shoulder as he passed, a nudge from the man’s pocket letting him know Duusuu was supporting him as well. Although considering the Kwami he cared for there was a good chance that was exactly what happened. 

The discovery of Alfred being a Chosen wasn’t as unexpected as if it had been anyone else. Casting his mind back the Kwami had never hid around the man like they did others and if he was being honest Damian could think of few others who were as worthy of the honor. From their interactions the Peafowl the two seemed a perfect match too. 

Luckily once they were sat Tim was able to divert the conversation to the various happenings at WE and how things had gone with the gala, especially congratulating Dick’s hard work with it at the last minute while Bruce was unavailable. The slight scorn in his voice at the last bit seemed to go unnoticed, although the tentative mention of Dick perhaps becoming more permanently involved seemed to get a warm reception. 

From the twitch of an eyebrow before smoothing back into the neutral but friendly face that primarily made appearances during more difficult meeting, Tim was unhappy by that as Damian himself. 

There were no questions about why Dick was relocating back. No mention of the job they were aware Dick loved but was no longer welcome after so much time taking care of them in all the ways Father should have been. 

Luckily Titus needed a walk or he wasn’t sure he could bite his tongue and stop himself from saying something. Dismissal of his problems were one thing but Dick was constantly sacrificing everything for the family. 

Alfred caught him as he headed back in to feed his pets. “Master Jason is here.”

Ah. 

Well that was pretty much a guarantee that the calm he had reclaimed while walking around the grounds was about to fly out the window. Jason had been after Father’s blood since he had stayed with Marinette and the time had no doubt fed instead of banking that fire. 

“-etend like you care about us! Pretend you’re some bag family man!”

A pause to breathe before he pushed the door to the living room open. 

“What right have you to judge me when you’ve tried to kill half this family!”

The full body flinch from Jason from bringing up something he had very little control of didn’t sit well with any of them, it was a topic they all avoided. Pit madness was not something to be taken lightly and the fact that Jason was able to battle through it to think rationally now was a testament to his strength. Damian was sure that even Jason didn’t know how rare that was, how few regained anything but the feeling of anger after a plunge. 

But it was Tim that concerned him, his brother sat motionless and curled as if trying to make himself smaller. Nothing like the rival he had come to respect. 

The look of fury on his face at that comment seemed more like himself. 

The voice cutting through all the tension, breaking Jason out of the leap they could see his muscles coiling for, was both a relief and a concern. While he hadn’t seen it himself the arguments between Dick and Father were legendary. 

“It’s almost time for patrol. Jason and Tim, could you take Damian with you tonight. We’ll join you later on after out...discussion.”

It wasn’t phrased as a question and honestly none of them wanted it to be. It was best they got Jason out before something ill advised happened, his eyes were already glowing with more green than was advisable in any situation and they weren’t sure they would try to stop him. 

Voices started to raise as soon as the three of them were outside the door but it was one sentence that stood out. “You didn’t even know where he was! Did you even care!”

That was something he hadn’t known. 

His brothers had looked frantic upon finding him at Marinette’s but he'd thought it was just because of the fight with Father. Not that he’d been essentially missing for a week, although he suspected Alfred had known, and that Father hadn’t even looked for him. 

It was all a little bit of a blur as Tim and Jason lead him down to the cave, and when had they become Tim and Jason in his head? He wasn’t sure. 

The world focused more as he was leaping between the buildings, swinging across the larger gaps as he followed Red Hood. Red Robin patrolling not far away. The adrenaline and rush of the air was grounding, more so punching a mugger who was trying to victimise a teenage girl around his age. 

Red Hood seemed to be in a similar mindset and was resorting more to his fists than the rubber bullets he typically utilised. It led to a much quieter later patrol as word got out that the Bats were particularly violent that night. 

There was a glimpse of the Mouse themed hero and a new one that seemed to have Rabbit ears on the top of his hood but they both vanished before their eyes. If what Tikki said was correct most likely behind an illusion from the unseen Fox hero. The new addition’s timing matching with the arrival of Marinette’s other friend was suspicious and he was pretty sure his suspicions were correct. 

He was also pretty sure they were allowing themselves to be spotted. Tim had mentioned sightings on occasions at a distance, although sensibly they were keeping out of their way for now. Damian wasn’t sure if Father would accept magical heroes wielding the power of small Gods within the city easily, even if they were doing good. 

It remained quiet between the three of them until it suddenly wasn’t. 

The roar of the batmobile and the purr of the accompanying bike letting them know that Batman and Nightwing had arrived. At least they hadn’t gotten too violent but the separate transportation was not the best sign. 

Nightwing was the first to join them, thanking Red Hood and reaching under the hood of his cape to ruffle his hair. At least it was already messy from being Robin. 

Unfortunately from the tenseness he gained, all of them really gained, when Batman joined them on the roof meant that they hadn’t completely handled their conflict. It left an unease in his stomach. 

“Right Robin, you come with me and Hood can join Red Robin?”

Red Hood muttered something uncomplimentary about being able to patrol on his own but bounded off in the direction they knew Red Robin was perched. With the arguments earlier and the continuing tenseness the Pit was going to be bubbling closer to the surface for a while so he gave into the mild coddling and allowed a partner as a backup moral compass for if he wasn’t able to make those decisions himself. 

It was a tried and tested method the Birds had been working with him on, although with Robin’s own tendency to violence the partner tended to be one of the others. 

Batman spoke just as Robin was about to start the run up to get between buildings causing his feet to stumble and a sharp twist to regain his balance. 

“No. Robin will patrol with me.”

The look on Nightwing’s face pretty much said it all and the fight began all over again. Their words were cutting, Batman demanding that Robin belonged with him while Nightwing pointed out that he’d hardly been there to fill the role so how would he know. 

Nightwing tried to insist it should be his choice but Robin, Damian, he wasn’t sure which he wanted. His upbringing said he should go with Batman, with Father, but he’d not been there for him. Barely made time for him and never really listened. But going with Nightwing felt like a defiance and a cutting of ties to someone he had spent so long seeking approval from. 

He felt trapped and just wanted to escape. 

While Damian Al Ghul, heir to the League of Assassins, never ran from a fight that in part was because he never had anywhere to go. His training had consisted of win or die scenarios since death was only a temporary obstacle to the League. 

Robin never ran because he had something to prove. He had to be better than all of his brothers. Had to prove that he was the best Robin to stay with Father and make sure that he wasn’t sent back. 

Damian Wayne however for the first time had somewhere outside of the family to go. Had a group of adults that cared for him and would make sure he was protected. 

The shouts echoing through the comms and making his ears ring were barely even words as he turned and launched himself to the nearest building and then the next. Shouts of Robin were mixed in with the fighting but they barely registered. 

The sharp voice of Red Hood threatening him to stay away from the bike they’d ridden in on. Not to do anything stupid was irrelevant as the engine roared and he pushed the throttle into questionable speeds for the narrow alleys it was parked in. 

“And he took my bike.” was the last thing that registered as he turned off the comms and shoved it in a pocket. Oracle would no doubt be tracking him but it was hardly a secret where he was going to be going. 

He didn’t feel right, felt disconnected from his body as the road sped past him, then the gate and a skid as he pulled the bike to a stop outside the manor. Only not the one he lived in. 

Marinette stood in the doorway, pyjamas and a blanket draped over her shoulders in the most welcoming site he’d seen. 

“Robin, are you okay? Can I help with anything?”

It didn’t seem to phase her as he wrapped his arms around her, she even returned the hug if a little hesitant at first. 

“You said I could come over any time.”

Had he been more grounded Damian might have realised his mistake in turning up fully in costume and saying those words. But Marinette was a hero herself and took the reveal in her stride. 

“Of course Damian. Come inside and I’ll find you some clothes to borrow, then you can meet Luka early and join us catching up. Tikki will be happy to see you.”

By the time he got out of the shower and pulled on a set of pajamas which dangled over his hands and feet making him feel like the child he was he was much more grounded. The family weren’t going to be happy with him about the reveal. 

For now though he met the Rabbit hero Luka, listening to his wild tales of touring with his father Jagged Stone, Tikki soothingly stroking his hair. Within half an hour he was sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Things did not improve after Robin’s departure. 

Oracle could hear the shouting echoing in the comms getting louder and louder until she forcibly muted Batman and Nightwing. It was loud enough to be clearly heard from Red Hood’s comms even above the man’s worried fretting over the little bird she was tracking. He was claiming it was concern for his bike but considering he managed to trash them on a regular basis with stupid stunts she knew otherwise. 

Red Robin was finishing off the patrol routes while Red Hood kept an eye on the two idiots. Dick was going to be kicking himself when he realised what sort of impact this was having with Damian. He’d already been about to follow the wayward bird only to be stopped by Bruce. The man seriously could not take a hint. 

As it was, she had a private line set up with Agent A to let the man know that Robin was rapidly heading in his direction with semi-regular updates to the other birds.

Only she watched as the ping from his gps tracker turned off into a driveway one too early. It wasn’t the Wayne Manor he was heading towards but the old Drake Manor. And he hadn’t slowed down enough to have changed out of his uniform at any point. 

While she made a point of not looking into anyone that Dick was dating, there lie the road to madness, the woman Marinette’s connection to Damian had made her do at least a top level search to make sure she was a safe enough associate. The Wayne boys got kidnapped enough as it was without tempting fate in any way. From her memory that was the house that she lived in. 

This was going to turn into an infinitely awkward situation. Best not to mention anything for now until they all calmed down, she’d let Alfred know and he’d handle it if anything needed handling. 

\---

Marinette sighed as she carried Damian to bed, luckily Luka had taken the other guest room so at least he’d wake up somewhere fairly familiar. Although he spent so much time at their house it was quickly becoming Damian’s room anyway. Alfred the Cat certainly seemed to think so considering he was already hogging one of the pillows when she nudged the door open. Luckily he got on well enough with the Kwami so Tikki wasn’t about to oust him. 

Tikki’s protectiveness was a fond reminder of the times they spent together while Hawkmoth was still at large. Even if some of the advice had been a little off considering Kwami both weren’t human and were still adjusting to the fast pace of the latest technological era it had been a comfort to have someone constantly there to support her. 

Plus now she knew that Damian was out there risking his life on a regular basis on the rooftops of Gotham and more horrifyingly fighting Rogues when he was just barely a teenager this was the push to let go of Tikki a little. Time to see how Damian felt about pierced ears if they weren’t already. An extra layer of security for her baby bug and perhaps time for her Team to meet the Bats. 

The others hadn’t seen him in uniform and she wasn’t going to out him without checking first but they could tell something had rattled her. Both the advantage and curse of having a close Team. 

Telling them about her plans to allow Tikki to leave with Damian distracted them enough that they didn’t push but she could feel the questioning gaze of Chloe. 

This was definitely something she needed to think about and process in the privacy of her own room where she could spiral into panic in peace. Because if Damian was Robin it only made sense that the rest of his family were connected in some way to the Bats and from the walk on New Years day there was too much correlation between the two groups. 

Plus the nicknames they all had for each other. The boys were all bird themed in some way and it was a running theory that Robin was a mantle that had been passed on a number of times. They had the same rough body measurements even! 

Damian for Robin and Dick for Nightwing were the easiest to suss out since one she had done actual measurements on to teach him how and the other she’d been quite enjoying looking at. Although the temporary Batman was probably Dick as well since the suite had definitely looked like there was padding in it. 

Tim he’d seen less of but fit the smaller and slim build of Red Robin while Jason fit the overall mass of Red Hood. The girls were easier since it was obvious from their hair colours. Batgirl for Steph and Black Bat for Cass. Alfred seemed like he would be someone behind the scenes, perhaps more actively so if this didn’t all go terribly and he could make the Peafowl miraculous known about. Barbara was a little harder to place but the way they’d all interacted made her think there was a link there somewhere. 

Which left the elusive Bruce Wayne as Batman. Probably.

Feeling the spiral coming it was time for her to retire claiming much more sleepiness than she actually felt. It must have shown because Mullo and Plagg both followed her to curl up on a shoulder each. 

What was she supposed to do with this information. Damian hadn’t been thinking properly when he’d come through the door, hell she had what she was pretty sure was Jason’s bike in front of the house. Did she just pretend he’d gotten changed before coming here to the rest of the family? Did she let them think she only knew about Damian? Or did she fess up about it all? 

Plus what about her own secrets? Was it fine to start telling them? The Bats were known as being a part of the Justice League and a variety of teams of heroes throughout the world so they could be trusted probably but what about Batman? If she was correct not only was the man a bad father but not great as a human being considering the neglect of his family, was that someone she could trust? 

Too many questions and that was before she even got onto thinking about having gone on a date with Nightwing who was voted best ass in Gotham year after year!

Too much to think about, too many questions. 

Pulling out a sketchbook she mostly kept hidden since it was full of redesigns of heroes outfits she let the flow of designing descend over her and her thoughts and the world melt away. Tomorrow would need much coffee to deal with this but at least for a while she could be calm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marinette goes into a bit of an anxiety spiral. I've written this largely how I experience an anxiety attack
> 
> Next chapter is going to be a bit angsty while they get this all sorted out


End file.
